MacGyver Neuroscience: Cost-Effective Laboratory Exercises for Pre-Health Education.

Abstract

Developing effective Pre-Health curricula can be a challenge at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). Limited course offerings, tight budgets, heterogeneous student populations, and ambitious learning outcomes pose challenges that will not likely diminish in the near future. Here we present a series of laboratory exercises embedded into a Neuroscience Minor program that are designed to introduce undergraduates to basic surgical skills, safety protocols, mammalian neuroanatomy, and endoscopic techniques. These low-cost laboratory activities can effectively illustrate applications of Neuroscience knowledge in various health care professions.