Advances in Physiology Education最新文献

Body weight plays an important role in health. Despite key findings associated with body weight control, many underlying physiological mechanisms still need to be discovered. In body weight control, the brain is the integrating center that receives information from the external and internal environments and ultimately enacts a response. Our brains seem to be wired to ensure survival because it appears that it is easier to gain weight than to lose it. In the present review, the current understanding of the mechanisms of body weight control by nutrients and hormones, with a focus on leptin, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is discussed. Gaps in the literature are also highlighted.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This review provides a brief summary of the key current mechanisms of body weight regulation.

At Midwestern University-Glendale, hands-on point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training is integrated throughout the 4-year medical curriculum. The core physiology courses are completed by all first-year osteopathic medical students [Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM)] and podiatric medical students [Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine (AZPOD)]. We hypothesized that the incorporation of a cardiac ultrasound workshop would enhance students' perceived confidence in their understanding of cardiac physiology and increase students' perceived confidence to perform cardiac POCUS scans and, additionally, that student perceived confidence in either area of cardiac physiology or POCUS may affect either or both of these metrics. The study utilized brief pre- and postworkshop surveys, administered on paper; questions assessed confidence in cardiac physiology and ultrasound principles and perceived gains in understanding and practical skills measuring cardiac output (CO), velocity time integral (VTI), measurement of aortic diameter, and E-point septal separation (EPSS). Additionally, all student participant-captured images were evaluated by a clinical faculty expert in ultrasound instruction using a grading rubric based on image clarity and anatomical and measurement accuracy. The pre- and postsurvey analyses demonstrated 1) significantly increased confidence in basic ultrasound machine use and 2) significantly increased confidence in obtaining the parasternal long axis (PLAX) view, integral to measuring CO, VTI, and EPSS, and that 3) participants with lower baseline confidence in physiology showed greater overall gains in confidence in obtaining the PLAX view and 4) participants with higher prior POCUS confidence reported significantly higher subjective learning in cardiac physiology. Average scores for all images assessed fell into the "fair" category for image clarity and anatomical and measurement accuracy. Our findings offer evidence of and meaningful insights into the educational value of integrating POCUS-based learning experiences within medical physiology courses.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study assesses the utility of cardiac ultrasound workshops within a medical physiology course. Students were surveyed; stratifying respondents into high- and low-prior confidence groups, we demonstrate which students may benefit the most from hands-on ultrasound workshops. Additionally, students' technical skill proficiency in POCUS was assessed and evaluated from images of cardiac anatomical structures and corresponding physiological measurements. The large experimental group utilized (291 surveys) yields increased sensitivity and supports significant findings.

Endometriosis (ENDO) is a chronic, estrogen-dependent condition affecting over 190 million females worldwide. Characterized by cyclic pelvic pain, infertility, and systemic inflammation, its symptoms profoundly impact quality of life, interfering with mental health, relationships, education, work, and sexual well-being. Despite this burden, treatment options remain limited. For symptom relief, many females turn to self-management strategies, particularly dietary modifications. This review explores the relationship between ENDO, quality of life, and diet. First, we summarize the ENDO classification and assessment. Second, we provide an overview of the pathophysiology and etiology of ENDO including current diagnosis methods. Finally, we review evidence on anti-inflammatory and elimination diets, such as the Mediterranean and low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols (low-FODMAP) diets, which are adopted to reduce ENDO-associated pain through inflammatory and estrogen-mediated mechanisms. Retrospective studies suggest the adoption of diets with anti-inflammatory properties may improve ENDO symptoms and quality of life, yet high-quality randomized controlled trials remain scarce. Before clinical recommendations regarding dietary management strategies for ENDO are developed, rigorous and comprehensive randomized trials are needed.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This review synthesizes current evidence for the potential of utilizing diet as a nonpharmacological strategy for managing endometriosis-associated pain and other symptomatology. It emphasizes the importance of addressing patient-identified barriers and patient-centered research designs. By bridging clinical findings with current data, this work offers educators and clinicians a more holistic framework to guide discussions around symptom management and the role of nutrition in chronic disease care.

The theoretical and practical aspects of science education are often uncoupled, resulting in decontextualized learning. To address this concern, the present work adopts the view that scientific discovery is a form of learning and that its hypothetico-deductive and transformative processes are essential for learning in scientific disciplines. This article presents an educational practice developed for a graduate-level translational neuroscience module, centered on the process of scientific inquiry through student-led, hypothesis-driven research design. The project adopts a multimodal framework, based on multiple pedagogical and philosophical concepts including transformative learning, threshold concepts, social constructivism, and the philosophies of Popper and Kuhn, to integrate content knowledge with epistemological development. By mirroring the logistics and logic of scientific discovery, and through iterative cycles of discussion, reflection, and critical evaluation, the students navigate both cognitive and affective domains and engage with complex and often troublesome topics in translational neuroscience.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Grounded in Popper's hypothetico-deductive logic, Kuhn's focus on anomalies, threshold concepts, and transformative learning, the Virtual Research Project (VRP) turns the scientific method into pedagogy.

Cancer is a major global health challenge. Despite strong evidence supporting exercise in cancer prevention and care, its integration into treatment plans remains limited. This article outlines an experiential learning initiative combining cancer prevention, exercise physiology, and innovative teaching to raise awareness of exercise in cancer prevention and supportive care. An interdisciplinary team from a professional organization designed and implemented an Exercise is Medicine^® video-based challenge. Undergraduate students created short, evidence-based videos that highlighted exercise's role in cancer prevention and care. Submissions were evaluated by the team and also shared for public voting at an annual regional conference. The challenge engaged 14 students, producing 12 videos with credible evidence and creative media. Finalist videos, promoted through social media and professional networks, generated >1,000 views, broadening awareness of exercise oncology. Awards recognized top submissions, encouraging student engagement, collaboration, and advocacy for exercise in supportive cancer care. The initiative showed that students could synthesize and communicate complex scientific concepts effectively. This novel, student-driven initiative demonstrated that experiential learning can be meaningfully integrated into physiology principles of oncology care. By engaging students in creative, evidence-based communication, the project deepened understanding of exercise's pathophysiological basis in cancer care and stressed multidisciplinary collaboration. This scalable educational model raises awareness of exercise oncology among future health professionals and supports a workforce ready to deliver patient-centered, evidence-based cancer care.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article outlines the intersection of cancer prevention, exercise physiology education, and pedagogical innovation. An exercise oncology initiative was used to educate students on the role of exercise in cancer prevention and supportive care through a video-based challenge. Participants integrated exercise physiology into cancer care advocacy, promoting collaborative care. The initiative raised awareness of exercise oncology and created a scalable framework for future education, emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration in supportive cancer care.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Mentoring can be one of the most rewarding components of a career in academic science and research. This article outlines key guidelines for establishing a successful mentor-mentee relationship, creating a supportive environment that fosters professional and scientific growth and discovery.

Participation in scientific meetings confers many benefits to undergraduate students and promotes their success and retention in science. However, the cost and time required to attend a scientific meeting is often prohibitive for students, and university funding is often restricted to students presenting research. Small regional scientific meetings offer an opportunity to promote non-presenting undergraduate attendance because of their reduced registration fees and travel time, but the benefits of attending regional scientific meetings have not been extensively studied. We recruited 45 non-presenting undergraduate students to attend the annual meeting of the Indiana Physiological Society and provided students with pre- and post-meeting surveys measuring self-perceptions of their professional abilities, sense of belonging in science, confidence in their degree program and career pathway, and reflections on the conference experience. Additionally, because non-presenting undergraduates made up nearly half of all meeting attendees, we surveyed other meeting attendees to assess the impact of these students on the meeting environment. After attending the meeting, students reported increased confidence talking to other scientists and presenting future research, a greater sense of belonging within the scientific community, more interest in pursuing research after graduation, and increased enthusiasm to attend future meetings. Other meeting attendees felt that the non-presenting undergraduates had a positive impact on the meeting and enhanced the environment for student presenters. Our results suggest that the attendance of non-presenting undergraduates at small regional scientific meetings provides mutual benefits to students, universities, and regional scientific societies.

Understanding immunology requires assimilating a considerable amount of theory. However, adapting the narrative of immunological processes from a human perspective and using accessible language can facilitate an authentic connection with the content, promoting creative teaching. From this viewpoint, an innovative format of micro-narratives is presented: the educational pitch-stories. These communication strategies can motivate while addressing complex topics in a short time. Those introduced here explain the activation, movement, and communication of cells through different manifestations of resilience: the creative resilience of neutrophils, physical resilience in cellular trafficking, and built resilience in the germinal center. This kind of trailer can organize and energize lectures, making the teaching-learning process a more motivating, engaging, meaningful, and flexible experience. From this perspective, new educational tools that combine creativity, shortness, and precision are suggested to guide students toward an understanding of the dynamics of immune responses.

This Viewpoint explores a novel and striking analogy between mitochondrial cristae and lunar footprints, highlighting both visual and conceptual parallels. By integrating metaphor, and connecting cellular architecture with human exploration, it illustrates how enduring imprints mark milestones in evolution and discovery. The analogy offers a perspective for teaching physiology that links structure and function with imagination and interdisciplinary thinking. Students can better appreciate how microscopic cellular features reflect evolutionary milestones while recognizing that scientific inquiry, whether at the cellular or cosmic scale, is driven by the same human desire to know and to advance.

University students commonly experience high levels of stress, which negatively impacts on academic performance, engagement and well-being. Coping strategies can be employed to manage stress, but there have not been extensive examinations of student motivations for selecting coping strategies and how selection of strategies changes during a semester. This study explored sources of stress and coping strategies used by first-year undergraduate students across a semester. It examined reasons for strategy selection, and the relationships between coping strategies, academic engagement and performance. Participants were 203 consenting first-year undergraduate sport science students in Australia. Students responded to open-ended questions at the beginning and end of semester, and responses were subjected to thematic analysis. Frequencies of responses were correlated with measures of engagement and academic performance. The primary sources of stress were academic pressures, alongside social, financial, and personal challenges. At the beginning of semester, students predominantly intended to employ problem-focused coping strategies, such as time management and study techniques. However, by the semester's end, students more frequently reported using strategies such as exercise, balancing work and life, meditation and yoga. Students' reported reasons for strategy use indicated that coping mechanisms served dual functions, both alleviating emotional distress and supporting study effectiveness, regardless of whether traditionally classified as problem- or emotion-focused. Employing more coping strategies positively correlated with higher academic performance. These findings suggest that encouraging a diverse range of adaptive coping strategies, while considering students' motivations for strategy selection, can support students' academic success and well-being.