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A Critical Thinking Activity on Drug Tolerance for Undergraduate Neuroscience Courses.

ABSTRACT: Active teaching techniques that involve critical thinking and analysis lead to better learning and retention, and there is growing need for learner-centered classroom activities in the neurosciences. This article presents a critical thinking activity that offers context and meaning to basic principles of synaptic pharmacology. Students analyze fictional datasets to identify major characteristics of drug tolerance. Students' self-reported perceptions and ungraded quiz scores suggest that this activity was an enjoyable and impactful way to deepen students' understanding and engage them with the course material. This activity was developed for a 300-level psychopharmacology course that included majors from various science departments, but could be used and/or modified for specialized seminars or other undergraduate courses in psychology or biology.

SUBMITTER: Cammack KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5480845 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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A Critical Thinking Activity on Drug Tolerance for Undergraduate Neuroscience Courses.

Cammack Katharine M KM

Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 20170615 2

Active teaching techniques that involve critical thinking and analysis lead to better learning and retention, and there is growing need for learner-centered classroom activities in the neurosciences. This article presents a critical thinking activity that offers context and meaning to basic principles of synaptic pharmacology. Students analyze fictional datasets to identify major characteristics of drug tolerance. Students' self-reported perceptions and ungraded quiz scores suggest that this act ...[more]

PMID: 28690438

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Project description:Electroencephalography (EEG) is a common neuroscience technique that is more accessible to undergraduate programs than expensive techniques such as fMRI and single-cell recording. The use of EEG can provide undergraduates with firsthand neuroscience research experience without taking too many financial resources away from a program. There are multiple types of EEG equipment that can be used, including individual electrodes and electrode caps. This study used surveys administered to students who were in a neuroscience laboratory course, conducting research, or participating in research in order to discern which of these two EEG setups is preferred by undergraduates. According to average reaction scores calculated from the surveys, laboratory students tended to prefer individual electrodes over electrode caps, and when explicitly asked about their overall preference, a majority of laboratory students chose individual electrodes over electrode caps. Additionally, comparable levels of improvement in learning objectives and the quality of data collected in laboratory sessions were found across methods. Student researchers' ratings revealed a marginal preference for caps over individual electrodes, and all 5 researchers surveyed chose caps on a discriminate choice question. Research participants' ratings of caps and individual electrodes, however, were not significantly different. These results do not point to a concrete recommendation of one setup over the other but rather suggest that either setup could be a viable option. Therefore, we conclude that programs can comfortably decide which to use based on their own needs and resources as well as the relative advantages and disadvantages of each setup. For example, individual electrodes may be better for programs with low budgets looking to introduce students to EEG data recording, whereas electrode caps may be better for programs looking to better prepare students for future EEG research or to perform multichannel recordings.

Dataset Information

A Critical Thinking Activity on Drug Tolerance for Undergraduate Neuroscience Courses.

Publications

A Critical Thinking Activity on Drug Tolerance for Undergraduate Neuroscience Courses.

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