Integrated laboratory classes to learn physiology in a psychology degree: impact on student learning and experience

Physiology is a fundamental discipline to be studied in most Health Science studies including Psychology. Physiology content is perceived by students as rather difficult, who may lack vision on how to relate it with their professional training. Therefore, identifying novel active and more engaging pedagogical strategies for teaching physiology to psychology students may help to fill this gap. In this pilot study, we used the PBL methodology developed around a clinical case to evaluate psychology students’ experience and learning in two laboratory classes modalities. The aim of this study was to compare the undergraduates’ preference for laboratory classes taught either independently (cohort 1, n = 87 students) or integrated into the PBL-oriented clinical case (cohort 2, n = 92 students) for which laboratory classes were transformed into Integrated Laboratory Classes (ILCs). The students’ academic performance was also evaluated to look for quantitative differences between cohorts. We found similar overall academic scores for the Physiology course between cohorts. Interestingly, when we compared the academic scores obtained in the theoretical content from each cohort, we found a significant improvement (p < 0.05) in cohort 2 where the students achieved better results as compared to cohort 1. A subset of students was asked to fill a questionnaire assessment on their experience and found that 78.9% of them preferred integrated laboratory classes over laboratory classes alone. They consistently reported a better understanding of the theoretical content and the value they gave to ILCs for learning. In conclusion, our pilot study suggests that integrating laboratory classes into PBL-oriented clinical contexts help to retain core physiology contents and it can be considered as an engaging learning activity worth implementing in Psychology teaching

Flipped classroom as a methodology to acquire knowledge and skills in an integrated manner in basic subjects in Medicine

[EN] The present study analyses the inclusion of the flipped classroom methodology in the Physiology I (Cellular Physiology) course of the Degree in Medicine. This methodology was carried out as an integrated activity including the concepts acquired in some lessons of the course, all of them related to the different types of muscle: skeletal, cardiac and smooth. With this aim, after two months explaining the theoretical concepts about this topic, the Professors laid out an activity focused on the review of these concepts by searching the common and differential characteristics of each type of muscle. A survey designed by teachers was used to analyze the assessment of the activity by the students and the suggestion of possible improvements. The results obtained show a very positive global evaluation (87% of the students), with 98-99% satisfied or highly satisfied with the objectives of the activity, and 89-98% who assessed positively this methodology. Thus, our results support the use of the flipped classroom methodology in the teaching process, as a useful tool for the improvement of students’ learning, and encourage us to include more activities following this methodology in academic years to come.Azpeleta, C.; Gal, B.; Suárez, F.; Sánchez-Camacho, C. (2015). Flipped classroom as a methodology to acquire knowledge and skills in an integrated manner in basic subjects in Medicine. En 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD' 15). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 267-272. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.394OCS26727

Immunohistochemical field parcellation of the human hippocampus along its antero-posterior axis

The primate hippocampus includes the dentate gyrus, cornu ammonis (CA), and subiculum. CA is subdivided into four felds (CA1-CA3, plus CA3h/hilus of the dentate gyrus) with specifc pyramidal cell morphology and connections. Work in non-human mammals has shown that hippocampal connectivity is precisely patterned both in the laminar and longitudinal axes. One of the main handicaps in the study of neuropathological semiology in the human hippocampus is the lack of clear laminar and longitudinal borders. The aim of this study was to explore a histochemical segmentation of the adult human hippocampus, integrating feld (medio-lateral), laminar, and anteroposterior longitudinal patterning. We provide criteria for head-body-tail feld and subfeld parcellation of the human hippocampus based on immunodetection of Rabphilin3a (Rph3a), Purkinje-cell protein 4 (PCP4), Chromogranin A and Regulation of G protein signaling-14 (RGS-14). Notably, Rph3a and PCP4 allow to identify the border between CA3 and CA2, while Chromogranin A and RGS-14 give specifc staining of CA2. We also provide novel histological data about the composition of human-specifc regions of the anterior and posterior hippocampus. The data are given with stereotaxic coordinates along the longitudinal axis. This study provides novel insights for a detailed region-specifc parcellation of the human hippocampus useful for human brain imaging and neuropathologyOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. EG-A, IP-S and CC were the recipients of grants from the Chair in Neuroscience UAM-Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno (Spain), and from thePlan Propio de Investigaciónof the University of La Laguna. LMP was the recipient of grant PID2021-124829NB-I00 from the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spai

To be or not to be: the importance of attendance in integrated physiology teaching using non-traditional approaches

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is increasing use of non-traditional methods like problem-based learning, team-working and several other active-learning techniques in Physiology teaching. While several studies have investigated the impact of class attendance on the academic performance in traditional teaching, there is limited information regarding whether the new modalities are especially sensible to this factor.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here, we performed a comparative study between a control group receiving information through traditional methods and an experimental group submitted to new methodologies in Physiology teaching.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that while mean examination scores were similar in the control and the experimental groups, a different picture emerge when data are organized according to four categorical attendance levels. In the experimental group, scores were not different between the 1st and the 2nd exams (P = 0.429) nor between the 2nd and the 3^rdexams (P = 0.225) for students that never or poorly attend classes, in contrast to the control group (P < 0.001). A score difference between attending students versus the absentees was maximal in the experimental versus the control group all along the different exams and in the final score.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest that class attendance is critical for learning using non-traditional methods.</p

The science of storytelling: different levels of narrative integration in teaching innovation applied to Human Physiology

[EN] The incorporation of narrative features into teaching materials of different formats, such as graphic and audiovisual ones, has proven to be an efficient way of encouraging student motivation. Besides, it strengthens the teaching of abstract concepts like those frequent in experimental sciences, such as Physiology, a basic subject in life sciences studies. From the Department of Physiology of the University of Valencia we present the creation of a teaching innovation group focused on the development of Narrative Physiology, FISIONARR, with the aim of promoting the narrative nature of teaching Physiology through two strategic lines. The first one focuses on graphic narrative and its integration as a teaching tool at different levels; the second deals with the generation of audiovisual narrative. In this sense, specific audiovisual material has been prepared for a series of videos entitled " Invisible Physiology", and as a conductive element of the digital educational escape room "Alimental, querida Watson".[ES] La incorporación de elementos narrativos en material docente de distintos formatos gráficos y audiovisuales es una manera eficiente de incentivar la motivación del estudiantado y de reforzar la docencia de conceptos abstractos como los relacionados con ciencias experimentales como la Fisiología, materia básica en estudios de ciencias de la salud. Desde el Departamento de Fisiología de la Universitat de València presentamos la creación de un grupo de innovación docente centrado en el uso de la Fisiología Narrativa, FISIONARR, con el objetivo de potenciar el carácter narrativo de la docencia en Fisiología a través de dos líneas estratégicas. La primera de ellas se centra en la narrativa gráfica y en su integración como herramienta docente a distintos niveles. La segunda trata sobre la generación de narrativa audiovisual y concretamente de ha elaborado material para una serie de videos titulados “La Fisiología Invisible” y como elemento conductor de la escape room educacional digital “Alimental, querida Watson”.Olaso Gonzalez, G.; Calvo Saiz, C.; González Cabo, P.; García Giménez, JL.; Gómez-Cabrera, MC.; Arribas Rodríguez, S.; Gal Iglesias, B.... (2023). La ciencia de contar historias: distintos niveles de integración narrativa en innovación docente aplicada a la Fisiología Humana. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1050-1060. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2023.2023.166551050106

Sublayer- and cell-type-specific neurodegenerative transcriptional trajectories in hippocampal sclerosis

Hippocampal sclerosis, the major neuropathological hallmark of temporal lobe epilepsy, is characterized by different patterns of neuronal loss. The mechanisms of cell-type-specific vulnerability and their progression and histopathological classification remain controversial. Using single-cell electrophysiology in vivo and immediate-early gene expression, we reveal that superficial CA1 pyramidal neurons are overactive in epileptic rodents. Bulk tissue and single-nucleus expression profiling disclose sublayer-specific transcriptomic signatures and robust microglial pro-inflammatory responses. Transcripts regulating neuronal processes such as voltage channels, synaptic signaling, and cell adhesion are deregulated differently by epilepsy across sublayers, whereas neurodegenerative signatures primarily involve superficial cells. Pseudotime analysis of gene expression in single nuclei and in situ validation reveal separated trajectories from health to epilepsy across cell types and identify a subset of superficial cells undergoing a later stage in neurodegeneration. Our findings indicate that sublayer- and cell-type-specific changes associated with selective CA1 neuronal damage contribute to progression of hippocampal sclerosis.This work was supported by grants from MICINN (RTI2018-098581-B-I00 to L.M.P.), Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzman el Bueno, and the SynCogDis Network (SAF2014-52624-REDT and SAF2017- 90664-REDT to L.M.P. and A. Bayes). Collaboration between L.M.d.l.P. and Y.H. was supported by Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant RGP0022/2013. J.P.L.-A. was supported by grants from MICIU co-financed by ERDF (RYC-2015-18056 and RTI2018-102260-B-I00) and Severo Ochoa grant SEV-2017-0723. R.R.-V. and A. Bayes were supported by MINECO BFU2015-69717-P and RTI2018-097037-B-100 and a Marie Curie career integration grant (ref. 304111). A.V.M. was supported by MICINN (SAF2017- 85717-R) and Fundación Alicia Koplowitz. A. Barco was supported by grants SAF2017-87928-R from MICINN co-financed by ERDF and RGP0039/2017 from the Human Frontiers Science Program Organization. The Instituto de Neurociencias is a ‘‘Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa.’’ D.G.-D. and C.M.N. hold PhD fellowships from MICINN (BES-2013-064171 and BES2016-076281, respectively).Peer reviewe

Hippocampal-Dependent Spatial Memory in the Water Maze is Preserved in an Experimental Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats

Cognitive impairment is a major concern in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). While different experimental models have been used to characterize TLE-related cognitive deficits, little is known on whether a particular deficit is more associated with the underlying brain injuries than with the epileptic condition per se. Here, we look at the relationship between the pattern of brain damage and spatial memory deficits in two chronic models of TLE (lithium-pilocarpine, LIP and kainic acid, KA) from two different rat strains (Wistar and Sprague-Dawley) using the Morris water maze and the elevated plus maze in combination with MRI imaging and post-morten neuronal immunostaining. We found fundamental differences between LIP- and KA-treated epileptic rats regarding spatial memory deficits and anxiety. LIP-treated animals from both strains showed significant impairment in the acquisition and retention of spatial memory, and were unable to learn a cued version of the task. In contrast, KA-treated rats were differently affected. Sprague-Dawley KA-treated rats learned less efficiently than Wistar KA-treated animals, which performed similar to control rats in the acquisition and in a probe trial testing for spatial memory. Different anxiety levels and the extension of brain lesions affecting the hippocampus and the amydgala concur with spatial memory deficits observed in epileptic rats. Hence, our results suggest that hippocampal-dependent spatial memory is not necessarily affected in TLE and that comorbidity between spatial deficits and anxiety is more related with the underlying brain lesions than with the epileptic condition per se

Wage inequality, segregation by skill and the price of capital in an assignment model

Some pieces of empirical evidence suggest that in the U.S., over the last few decades, (i) wage inequality between-plants has risen much more than wage inequality within-plants and (ii) there has been an increase in the segregation of workers by skill into separate plants. This paper presents a frictionless assignment model in which these two features can be explained simultaneously as the result of the decline in the relative price of capital. Additional implications of the model regarding the skill premium and the dispersion in labor productivity across plants are also consistent with the empirical evidence. [resumen de autor