Name and Surname: Cristina Zona
Qualification: Associate Professor in Physiology
Scientific Sector: BIO/09
Contact: e-mail: zona@uniroma2.it; phone: +39 06 7259 6424 - 6431; office: F124,
South Tower, Faculty of Medicine, Via Montpellier, 1 - 00133 Rome, Italy
Biography:
Cristina Zona
Curriculum vitae
Dr. Cristina Zona was born in Rome, Italy and she graduated with honours in Mathematics
at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy.
She joined the University of Rome "La Sapienza", Institute of Human Physiology, and she
transferred to the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Department of Experimental Medicine
and Biochemical Science and subsequently to the Department of Neuroscience.
From 1982 until 1985 she was post-doctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Cybernetic and
Biophysics, Council National of Research, Camogli, Genova, Italy, in the Department of
Neurophysiology, Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry of Munich, Germany and in the
Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In
1989, 1990 and 2002 she was visiting scientist in the Department of Neurology and
Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, in the
Department of Physiology, Kioto, Japan and in the Department of Neurology, Harvard
Medical School of Boston, U.S.A.
Since 2000 she has been Associate Professor in Human Physiology at the University of
Rome "Tor Vergata", at present in the Department of Systems Medicine. In 2014 she has
been found suitable as a Full Professor in Physiology.
Since 1985 she has been head of the laboratory of Electrophysiology in the University of
Rome “Tor Vergata”, and since 1996 has been head of the laboratory of Neuro-biophysics
at I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
Dr. Zona’s studies have dealt with neuronal excitability, ionic channels modulation and
mechanisms of action of drugs on the Central Nervous System using electrophysiological
techniques on animal models. Another major field of interest of Dr. Zona has been the
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In this respect, she has focused on the altered
functionality of the voltage-dependent-ionic channels and ionotropic receptors in a genetic
model of ALS.
She received many operating grants during all the years of research including the Telethon
Foundation Italy, FIRB and Latran Foundation, France.
She has been invited to be a referee by different international scientific journals.
Dr. Zona is a member of the Italian, European and American Society of Neuroscience and
of the Italian Society of Physiology.
Title of teaching module: Physiology
Description of teaching module (teaching program):
Physiology
Credits: 8
Course objectives
This is a course designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of important
structural features of tissues and organs making up the human body and how the
functions of these tissues and organs are integrated.
Program
Physiology of the membranes. Membrane structure and functions. Membrane potential
and ionic concentrations. Nernst law and Goldman equation. Electrical model and passive
properties of the cell membrane. The ionic basis of action potential. The ionic channels:
Na+, K+ and Ca++ channels.
The Neurons : cellular and network properties. The structure of neurons. The
graduate potential and the electrotonic propagation. Action potential propagation.
Saltatory conduction of the action potential. Synaptic transmission: electrical and chemical
synapses. Quantale release of neurotransmitter. Inhibitory and excitatory synapses.
Neurotransmitters and their receptors. Synaptic integration: temporal and spatial
summation. Synaptic plasticity. Neuromuscular junction and synapse.
The Cellular physiology of the muscles. Cellular and molecular structure of the
skeletal muscle. Molecular basis of skeletal muscle contraction. Excitation-contraction
coupling. Isometric and isotonic contraction. Length-tension curve. Twitch-contraction and
tetanus. Load-velocity relationship and muscle power. Muscle fatigue. The motor units and
control of muscle tension. Skeletal muscle receptors. Neuronal reflexes. Cardiac muscle
and smooth muscle: cellular structure, mechanisms of contraction and control.
The Cardiovascular physiology. Heart structure. Pacemaker activity of the heart.
Action potentials of the cardiac cells. The cardiac pump and mechanical events of the
cardiac cycle: systole and diastole. The atrial, ventricular and aortic pressure. The FrankStarling law. The electrocardiogram (ECG). Cardiac output and its control. Effects of
autonomic nervous system influences on the heart control. Hemodynamics and the blood
vessels. Relationships between pressure, flow and resistance. The Poiseuille's law. Local
and extrinsic controls of arterioles. The capillaries and the microcirculation. Fluid filtration
and Starling forces. The venous return. Regulation of systemic arterial pressure. Arterial
baroreceptors and the medullary cardiovascular center. The blood. Plasma and cellular
elements of blood. Platelets and coagulation.
The Respiratory physiology. Organization of the respiratory system. Mechanics of
breathing. The ventilation and pressures. The lung compliance and the surface tension.
The Laplace law. The respiratory muscles. Alveolar ventilation. Local control of the
ventilation. Gas exchange. The partial pressures and partial pressure gradients. Gas
transport. O2-Hb dissociation curve. Effects of pH, temperature on the O2-Hb saturation
curve. Transport of CO2 in the blood. Control of respiration. Control of ventilation
mediated by central and peripheral chemoreceptors.
The Urinary system. The functions of the urinary system. The nephron and its vascular
component. The glomerular filtration and forces responsible for glomerular filtration. The
tubular reabsorption. Reabsorption of Na+ mediated by aldosterone. Activation and
functions of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Tubular secretion. Mechanism of H+,
K+ and organic ions secretion. Functions of organic ion secretory systems. Urine excretion
and plasma clearance. The Henle-loop and the countercurrent-multiplier system. Excretion
of urine of varying concentrations. Medullary countercurrent system. Vasopressincontrolled H2O reabsorption. Micturition and its control. Fluid and acid-base balance.
The physiology of the Nervous System. The central nervous system. Cells and
organization of the Nervous System. Cerebral cortex. Sensory perception and motor
control. Association areas and cerebral specialization. Basal nuclei, thalamus and
hypothalamus. Emotion, behavior and motivation. Learning and memory. Cerebellum,
Brain stem, spinal cord. Spinal reflex. The peripheral nervous system: afferent division.
Receptor physiology. The pain. The vision. Hearing and equilibrium. Chemical senses:
Taste and smell. The peripheral nervous system: efferent division. Autonomic nervous
system: sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
The gastrointestinal system. General aspects of digestion. Digestive processes:
motility, secretion, digestion, and absorption. Regulation of digestive function. The enteric
nervous system. Mouth and salivary secretion. Pharynx and esophagus. Stomach. Gastric
motility and secretion. Digestion and absorption in the stomach. Pancreatic and biliary
secretions. Small and large intestine: motility, secretion, digestion and absorption. Colonic
bacteria and composition of feces.
The endocrine system. General principles of endocrinology. The hormones: synthesis,
release and mechanisms of action. The secretory and target cells: membrane receptors,
second messengers and intracellular receptor systems. The Hypothalamus and pituitary
glands. Vasopression and oxytocin. Endocrine control of growth. The reproductive glands
and the sexual hormones.
Suggested books:
 Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems
Lauralee Sherwood
Publisher:Brooks/Cole- CENCAGE Learning
 Human Physiology An Integrated Approach
Dee Unglaub Silverthon
Publisher: Pearson New International Edition