Biomechanics & Electrophysiology: New Approaches to Physiological Questions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9350860 Long The goals of this project are two-fold: (1) to introduce students to the new field of biomechanics in Animal Physiology, and (2) to expand the participation and sophistication of students in the advanced laboratory in Neurobiology. To this end, we propose to develop a data-acquisition work-station, featuring a Macintosh VX computer, a high-speed analog-to- digital board, and LabVIEW software. Unlike our current system, this workstation has programming capabilities, high sample rates, multiple channels, and adjustable gains. With six work- stations, students in Animal Physiology can design and perform experiments on the biomechanics of locomotion, feeding in invertebrates, and the dynamic power output of vertebrate muscle. These new experiments are also made possible by the addition of SVHS video equipment that allows students to record and analyze animal motions. In Neurobiology, we propose to teach the sophisticated technique of brain slice electrophysiology. Students will measure the electrical interactions of different cells in the mammalian brain using brain slice electrophysiology. By giving students the opportunity to learn advanced techniques in biomechanics and electrophysiology, we are introducing them to new ways to address questions that have puzzled, and continue to puzzle, physiologists: (1) How do animals move, feed, and what, if any, limits do muscles impose? (2) How do the cells of the nervous system "learn," respond to stress, and establish and maintain electrical membrane potentials?