Unit AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION
- Course
- Assessment of individual functioning in clinical and health psychology
- Study-unit Code
- A005956
- Curriculum
- Curriculum i
- Teacher
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Teachers
-
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- Hours
- 36 ore - Daniela Laricchiuta
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2025
- Offered
- 2025/26
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Psicologia generale, fisiologica e psicometria
- Academic discipline
- M-PSI/01
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- The course aims to provide theoretical and methodological knowledge on emotional and affective processes, addressed from both neuroscientific and psychological perspectives.
- Reference texts
- Required textbook for all students (attending, non-attending, and working students): Michela Balconi (2020). Neuroscienze delle emozioni. Alla scoperta del cervello emotivo nell’era digitale. FrancoAngeli. Supplementary materials: Scientific articles and materials presented during lectures will be made available on the course website and are an integral part of the required preparation.
- Educational objectives
- The course aims to provide advanced knowledge of the neural bases and mechanisms underlying emotional and affective processes, with a focus on regulation, interaction with cognitive functions, and applications in clinical, experimental, and digital contexts. The course is designed to foster critical thinking, practical application, communication skills, and scientific judgment. By the end of the course, students will be able to: Understand and critically describe the main neuroscientific models of emotions and emotional regulation; Analyze the neural bases and functional mechanisms of cognitive and affective processes; Critically evaluate experimental studies, methods, and results in the field of affective neuroscience; Apply theoretical knowledge to clinical and experimental contexts; Discuss the advantages and limitations of various techniques used to study and measure emotional experience.
- Prerequisites
- Knowledge of general psychology, basic principles of brain anatomy and physiology, and fundamental concepts of statistics.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures, interactive discussion of scientific articles, and small group work with presentations.
- Other information
- The professor is available at the end of lectures (see schedule). For specific needs, appointments can be arranged by emailing: daniela.laricchiuta@unipg.it
- Learning verification modality
- The final exam consists of a written test structured as follows: 21 multiple-choice questions (1 correct answer out of 4; 1 point for each correct answer, 0 points for incorrect answers) 2 open-ended questions (up to 5 points each, evaluated based on content, clarity, and synthesis ability) Maximum total score: 31/30 (with honors) Access to open-ended questions is granted only to students who correctly answer at least 18 out of 21 multiple-choice questions (18/21) Total exam duration: 50 minutes - 20 minutes for the multiple-choice quiz - 15 minutes for each open-ended question Registration for the exam is mandatory at least 48 hours before the exam date, exclusively via the Online Student Secretariat (SOL). Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA) are encouraged to visit: https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa and to contact the instructor in advance to arrange any necessary accommodations.
- Extended program
- The course program is identical for attending students, non-attending students, and working professionals, and is organized into the following main topics, addressed through theoretical lectures, discussions of scientific articles, applied case studies, and group work: 1. Prologue What emotions are and how they differ from feelings; Physiological bases of emotions. 2. Theoretical and Neuroscientific Models of Emotions Basic theories: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer, LeDoux. 3. Cognitive Emotions: Appraisal, Expression, Recognition; Emotion regulation: neuropsychological mechanisms and models. 4. Neural Mechanisms of Emotion and Emotional Regulation Circuits of fear, threat, and reward; Functional connectivity and brain dynamics; Neurophysiological mapping of emotions. 5. Emotions and Cognitive Functions Interactions between emotions, attention, memory, and decision-making; Emotions and executive functions: decision neuroscience; Economic emotions and motivational processes. 6. Social Emotions Neurocognitive bases of empathy and compassion; Empathy, mirroring, and emotional attunement; Mirror systems and theory of mind. 7. Neuroscientific Techniques in Affective Neuroscience Behavioral, neurophysiological, psychopharmacological, computational, and neuroimaging methods; 8. Clinical and Experimental Applications. 9. Digital Emotions Digital emotional simulation. 10. Evolutionary and Comparative Aspects
- Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- 3. Health and Well-being 4. Quality Education