Introduction to Electrophysiological Measurements

Author: amoreno

Created: 2021-09-19 06:32am

Edited: 2021-10-11 07:34pm

Keywords: Electrophysiology, Cell physiology, STREAM, Voltage measurement, Local field potential.

Description:

This Module is part of the Neuroscience Course for 3rd Semester Medicine Bachelor students. It contains 3 activities that span over 3 different days, and follows a STREAM approach containing a blended model of out-of-class and in-class activities.

The Module intends to cover basic aspects of the electrophysiological technique used to measure electrical field potentials, a technique that is broadly used in Medicine (both in the clinical practice and in research). Students will get an introduction to basic general concepts (supported with a Lecture and literature), a proposed set of questions that will be solved in small groups (Group Work) and corrected in a Small Class seminar afterwards, and finally a small Hands-on activity to bring the learned concepts to life and observe a real measurement of muscle electrical activity.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Understand the fundamentals of measuring the electrical properties of physiological substrates.
Implement the learned concepts into a small practical activity to measure muscle contraction.
Discuss the translational aspect of electrophysiology.

Resources		Tasks		Supports
Suggested literature	→	Read and summarise. Note down questions to clarify during in-class sessions Estimated time: 2h ↓	←	Brightspace
Out-of-class
Lecture slides	→	Review and skim before class. Estimated time: 1h ↓	←	Brightspace
Questions for Group Work	→	Work in small groups (3-4 peers) and answer the proposed questions. Interact to agree on a common answer. Discuss the rationale behind the chosen answer. Estimated time: 3h ↓	←	Peers
Forum in Brightspace	→	Ask questions and doubts. Help other peers with their questions. Estimated time: 1h ↓	←	Teacher + Peers
In-class (Lecture, Group work seminar and Hands-on practical activity)
Lecture	→	Attend, ask questions and take notes. Estimated time: 2h ↓	←	Teacher
Group Work seminar	→	Present the answers from the Group Work (out-of-class) and provide feedback to other Groups. Get feedback from the teacher. Estimated time: 2h ↓	←	Teacher + Peers
Practical activity	→	Read instructions and attend lesson. Estimated time: 1h ↓	←	Teacher

Out-of-class (end of Module)
Readiness Assurance test	→	Check own grasp of fundamental concepts by completing the test after studying the materials Estimated time: 30min	←	Brightspace

Additional information

The proposed Learning Design is a variation of a Module (containing one Lecture and two Small Class sessions) offered within a broader Neuroscience course (3rd semester Medicine bachelor level). In the course, many aspects of Neuroscience are covered, but in this Learning Design I am focusing on improving the introduction to Electrophysiology. This is often one of the hardest parts of the course for students to grasp, since they don’t have a background in engineering and concepts revolve around electrical potentials and their measurements. It is however crucial that students get a good basis on it, since this is a widespread technique used in multitude of medical and research applications.

I propose a blended design following the STREAM model, which includes both in-class and out-of-class activities, as well as a hands-on practical session on electrophysiological measurement.

First, the students receive some literature that should be reviewed before class. They can also skim through the Lecture materials and jot down the most problematic concepts to focus on during the lecture’s question time. Afterwards, during the lecture, the students get an overview of the basic concepts that they should learn for the Module. After the Lecture, students get a set of applied/practical questions to solve in small groups (3-4 peers). They should discuss the rationale of the questions proposed and agree in a common answer, which will then be presented in a Small Class seminar where the teacher will clarify any doubts or misunderstood concepts. Finally, another in-class activity will be a small hands-on practice on measuring muscle electrical potentials in real life. At the end, students have the opportunity to take a self-assurance test in Brightspace, that checks their understanding of the learned concepts and prepares them for the exam.