Advances in Physiology Education最新文献

{"title":"GutMove: a new educational game for active learning and assessment of competencies on gastrointestinal motility.","authors":"Abdullateef Isiaka Alagbonsi, Toyin Mohammed Salman, Shifaau Badmas Assayouti, Abdulkarim Ahmed, Bunmi Aribatise, Kazeem Adewale Gbolagade, Sheu Oluwadare Sulaiman, Fernanda Klein Marcondes","doi":"10.1152/advan.00007.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00007.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We described our first-ever gastrointestinal (GI) motility game (GutMove), designed to enhance teaching and assessment of knowledge on motility across the GI tract. The game has seven sections: <i>1</i> (pregastric regions), <i>2</i> (upper stomach), <i>3</i> (lower stomach), <i>4</i> (small intestine and its transition), <i>5</i> (large intestine), <i>6</i> (stimulating hormones), and <i>7</i> (inhibiting hormones). <i>Sections 1-4</i> have 8 cells each on the left side, and 12 e-tokens each scattered on the right side, although only 8 e-tokens are correctly matchable to the corresponding left cells, while the remaining 4 e-tokens are distractors to enhance critical thinking. Other sections have varying numbers of left cells and correctly matchable e-tokens versus scattered e-tokens (16 vs. 20 in <i>section 5</i>; 9 vs. 14 in <i>section 6</i>; and 18 vs. 23 in <i>section 7</i>). The game is played by a registered individual by tapping or dragging each e-token from the right repository and dropping it in the appropriate cell of the game board on the left, until completely filled. The game displays the play results after each round and reshuffles the e-tokens for the next rounds. The results can be verified via a dedicated link, and it provides feedback on right and wrong answers after every three wrong trials. Users of this game reported its positive impact on retrieval learning and assessments. This game can be used for improved teaching, assessment, and practical simulation of GI motility by tutors across the globe, irrespective of the structure of the curriculum used in an institution.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> There is currently no educational game dedicated to learning and assessment of motility across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This study describes our first-ever GI motility game (GutMove), designed to promote the Active Learning of students and serve as an effective tool for assessing students' knowledge on the motility across the GI tract. Users have reported the benefits of this game in learning and assessment on this topic.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"888-897"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148320475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Figuring it out: how I became a decent anatomy teacher in three hard steps.","authors":"Gregory J Crowther","doi":"10.1152/advan.00144.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00144.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> In a recent editorial, Erica Wehrwein warns that there is a shortage of people well prepared to teach in the disciplines of anatomy (A) and systems physiology (P). Here I elaborate on Wehrwein's concerns with a personal narrative on how I as a physiologist learned to teach anatomy. My pathway from a new A&P instructor to competent anatomist included three intermediate steps: <i>1</i>) substituting P for A, <i>2</i>) seeking help, and <i>3</i>) evolving new structures.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"915-918"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148347240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Chicken Coop Theory of arousal: a neuromodulatory framework for teaching consciousness architecture, clinical pharmacology, and state-space pathology.","authors":"Felipe Heemann","doi":"10.1152/advan.00147.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00147.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> The Chicken Coop Theory formalizes arousal as a position in a six-dimensional neuromodulatory state space rather than a switch controlled by any single system. Histaminergic latching, cholinergic warming, noradrenergic startling, dopaminergic dispensing, serotonergic nesting, and orexinergic anchoring are each grounded in a functional invariant, and six canonical clinical syndromes are derived as displacements within that space. The framework supports forward reasoning from pharmacological mechanism to phenomenology, and it is explicitly falsifiable.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"1011-1017"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148594369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cellular and network mechanisms of spreading depolarization.","authors":"Rachel Ricks, Kojo Bawuah Afran-Okese, Preston C Withers, T Luke Shafer, Isabella Roque, Tyler Poulos, Jacob H Norby, Rachel Maxfield, R Ryley Parrish","doi":"10.1152/advan.00201.2025","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00201.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spreading depolarization (SD) denotes a slowly propagating wave of ionic redistribution resulting in neuronal and glial depolarization, cellular swelling, vascular alterations, and metabolic challenge. Tissue characteristics, including brain region and energy availability, influence both entry into and recovery from SD. Although many paradigms reliably induce SD, a nuanced debate surrounds the fundamental mechanism underlying SD initiation and the primary conductances involved. Emerging mechanistic hypotheses of SD induction share a common theme of disruption in ionic homeostasis, often involving sodium-potassium ATPase insufficiency. The prevalence of SD in traumatic brain injury, stroke, migraine with aura, and seizures underscores the clinical relevance of understanding the physiological basis of SD. This <i>Staying Current</i> article describes the potential mechanisms underlying SD initiation, propagation, recovery, and clinical impact from a mechanistic standpoint.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This <i>Staying Current</i> article details the fundamental mechanisms of spreading depolarization (SD), a common central nervous system phenomenon rarely discussed in neuroscience curricula that is implicated in many neuropathologies, including mild and traumatic brain injury, migraine, and stroke. Therefore, incorporating SD into neuroscience education adds clinically relevant context that engages students and supports deeper understanding of foundational neurophysiology.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"929-941"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148347292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of student confidence, knowledge, and attitudes after use of interactive computer modules in a university-level cardiovascular physiology course.","authors":"Shannon Washburn, Nicola L Ritter, Amanda R Davis, Joe Samson, James N Moore, Zach Ginn, Scott Brown","doi":"10.1152/advan.00209.2025","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00209.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many students struggle to master cardiovascular physiology because of the complex, dynamic nature of the subject and the cognitive demands of integrating theoretical concepts. Prior research suggests that these difficulties are compounded by students' reliance on memorization, challenges in developing causal reasoning skills, and the inability to create accurate mental models of physiological processes. Traditional instructional methods often use static images and oversimplified animations that fail to convey the dynamic aspects of the cardiac cycle, further impeding conceptual understanding. These challenges may reduce students' confidence (self-efficacy) and contribute to attrition from health science career paths. A collaborative study was conducted utilizing visually realistic, interactive computer-based modules developed by the two participating universities. Data were collected across five consecutive semesters from 853 students enrolled in an undergraduate physiology course. Control data were obtained over two semesters using traditional lecture and laboratory instruction, whereas treatment data were collected over three semesters incorporating the interactive modules. Our aim was to determine whether visually realistic, interactive computer-based modules would promote learning, knowledge retention, and improvement in students' self-efficacy and attitudes. Although both groups demonstrated gains in content knowledge and positive shifts in attitudes, the treatment group exhibited improvements in confidence about concepts requiring higher-order reasoning and achieved greater learning gains across a broader range of topics. The interactive modules effectively enhanced students' self-efficacy and supported deeper conceptual understanding. These findings suggest that integrating visually realistic, interactive modules into physiology instruction supports student learning and fosters greater confidence in mastering complex physiological concepts.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study shows that visually realistic, interactive computer-based modules for cardiovascular physiology improved student confidence, supported higher-order reasoning, and enhanced learning across more topics than traditional instruction. These results demonstrate the value of interactive animations for helping students build accurate mental models of dynamic physiological processes. Integrating such tools into undergraduate physiology courses can strengthen conceptual understanding and increase student self-efficacy in mastering complex cardiovascular concepts.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"712-727"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147718527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring qualitative education research: a primer for physiologists.","authors":"Amy E Collins, Molly J Dingel, Andrew M Petzold","doi":"10.1152/advan.00023.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00023.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Determining how students perceive and navigate the physiology classroom is crucial for designing evidence-based pedagogy and a well-informed curriculum. As trained scientists, most physiology instructors are well versed in using quantitative research, a methodology that prioritizes statistical analysis to predict future outcomes. While these methods offer valuable insights into measurable trends, they often rely on assumptions that overlook the \"why\" and \"how\" of student learning, which fall into the realm of qualitative research methodologies. This primer aims to help physiology educators to better understand qualitative research by providing an overview of qualitative research, some key questions to address while forming a qualitative research question, and some of the main differences between qualitative and quantitative educational research. Finally, some examples of qualitative research in physiology are highlighted.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Predicting student outcomes only tells half of the learning story. To fully understand student learning, we must also understand their experience. This guide aims to demystify qualitative education research. From foundational theory to real-world examples, learn how to capture the \"why\" of student learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"751-759"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147976922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Navigating the transition from basic science researcher to medical educator.","authors":"Andrew D Bergemann, Sandra B Haudek","doi":"10.1152/advan.00012.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00012.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Many basic science researchers move into medical education, a transition that can feel disorienting and bring loss of identity, stress, and discouragement. Over time, however, it can become a rewarding path with meaningful challenges and opportunities to train critical thinkers and compassionate physicians. Drawing on our experiences, we identify common barriers to this transition and offer strategies individuals can use to navigate and overcome them.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"813-817"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148145421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Not Starling's first name: acknowledging Otto Frank's legacy in physiology education.","authors":"Soumith Sanka, Heidi L Lujan, Stephen E DiCarlo","doi":"10.1152/advan.00037.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00037.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Frank-Starling law is a cornerstone of cardiovascular physiology, yet its name often leads to amusing misconceptions. Many students assume \"Frank\" refers to Starling's first name, overlooking the physiologist whose quantitative approach transformed the study of the heart. This article revisits Otto Frank's work within its historical and educational context. In his 1895 habilitation thesis, \"Zur Dynamik des Herzmuskels,\" Frank introduced mathematical analysis of ventricular pressure-volume relationships, establishing a framework that underlies modern pressure-volume loop interpretation. In 1899, in \"Die Grundform des arteriellen Pulses,\" he formalized the Windkessel model, representing the arterial system in terms of resistance and compliance and explaining how pulsatile ventricular ejection is converted into more continuous arterial flow. Beyond these theoretical contributions, Frank developed precision instruments, extended his work from frog heart preparations to mammalian physiology, and applied mechanical principles to cardiac function. His frameworks remain central to cardiovascular physiology and continue to support mechanism-based teaching through pressure-volume analysis and Windkessel modeling. Revisiting Frank's contributions highlights the enduring role of quantitative models in understanding and teaching physiological systems.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Otto Frank's contributions to cardiac mechanics are often overshadowed by Starling's work. We revisit Frank's 1895 pressure-volume analysis and 1899 Windkessel model, which established a quantitative framework for understanding ventricular function and arterial dynamics. His integration of mathematical modeling, experimental measurement, and physiological reasoning helped transform cardiovascular physiology from descriptive observation to predictive analysis. These frameworks remain central to contemporary physiology and continue to support mechanism-based teaching and interpretation of cardiovascular function.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"836-839"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148220445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How drawing unlocks students' developing mechanistic reasoning about complex systems in physiology.","authors":"Xiaoyu Tang, Matthew Lira","doi":"10.1152/advan.00107.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00107.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In science education, student-generated drawings provide valuable insights into students' developing understanding of complex systems. This study examined how undergraduate physiology students' drawings reveal changes in their mechanistic reasoning after experiencing an agent-based modeling environment that modeled a complex system. Students' drawings at pre- and posttests and speech when learning with the agent-based modeling environment indicate that drawing reveals aspects of students' knowledge not captured by verbal modes during learning. Specifically, students used the agent-based modeling environment to <i>1</i>) transform their drawings of the entities' aggregate organization by dynamically integrating prior and newly acquired representational features and <i>2</i>) identify initially overlooked individual entities and physical properties that play causal roles in the complex system. We illustrate how students' knowledge manifests dynamically across drawing and speech and discuss the implications of drawing as a key that can unlock the door to productive knowledge resources but also reveal somewhat less productive knowledge in relation to targets for understanding quantified complex systems with multiple causal factors.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> This study demonstrates that student-generated drawings provide valuable insights into their developing mechanistic reasoning about complex systems. By integrating drawing with agent-based modeling environments, students dynamically reorganized aggregate representations and identified previously overlooked entities and causal properties. The findings show that drawing can reveal knowledge not accessible through verbal responses alone. This highlights drawings' value for uncovering both productive and less productive knowledge resources in science learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"963-981"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148450433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unraveling the enigma of digestion: a digital educational activity as a tool for teaching digestive system physiology.","authors":"Paulo Henrique Evangelista-Silva, Joao Kleber Neves Ramos","doi":"10.1152/advan.00194.2025","DOIUrl":"10.1152/advan.00194.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human physiology is challenging for undergraduates due to its abstract nature. The summer course \"Human Physiology: Practicing and Discussing Physiology\" offered by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of São Paulo has fostered innovative teaching strategies for over two decades. In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course was offered remotely, requiring adaptation of practical activities to a virtual environment. We developed a virtual didactic activity called \"Unraveling the Enigma of Digestion: Digital Marathon\" using Google Forms integrated with social media. Designed as a board-game-like experience, each stage involved online games, storytelling, puzzles, crosswords, and interactions with fictional characters, addressing macronutrient digestion and absorption. Progression required applying concepts from classes. This report describes the structure and implementation of the digital marathon in a remote teaching context. The proposed approach represents a flexible and low-cost strategy to support engagement and active learning in remote or hybrid physiology teaching.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> We present a novel teaching approach in the form of an innovative digital marathon that integrates active learning strategies with widely accessible social media platforms to support the remote teaching of digestive system physiology. This approach illustrates how interactive, low-cost digital tools can be structured to facilitate engagement and discussion of theoretical content in virtual or hybrid learning environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":50852,"journal":{"name":"Advances in Physiology Education","volume":" ","pages":"800-803"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148145429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}