Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 270, Issue 6 50-S68, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society
A spinal circuitry simulator as a teaching tool for neuromuscular physiology
S. Maw, J. Frank and G. Greig
Division of Neuroscience, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Many concepts in neuromuscular physiology can be difficult for instructors
to teach and for students to understand. The behaviors of various
components in neuromuscular systems do not always interact in obvious ways,
and the function of hundreds of components can be very different from the
function of just one or two "representatives." In this paper, a simulator
is presented that can model both small and large spinal circuitry systems
thus allowing students to explore the dynamic functional implications of
the static circuitry diagrams that are common in many neuroscience
textbooks. The simulator brings to life many concepts in neuromuscular
physiology and permits students to explore such concepts without extensive
supervision. The benefits and drawbacks of using this kind of simulator in
the classroom are discussed, based on initial field tests with
undergraduate and graduate students as well as input from the literature.
It was found that such a simulation can be very useful as a teaching tool
if it is used properly with the right audience.
