An Inter-Institutional Collaboration to "Make Teaching Matter": The Teaching Academy of the Consortium of West Region Colleges of Veterinary Medicine.

Veterinary medical education is a relatively small community with limited numbers of institutions, people, and resources widely dispersed geographically. The problems faced, however, are large-and not very different from the problems faced by (human) medical education. As part of an effort to share resources and build a community of practice around common issues, five colleges in the westernmost region of the United States came together to form a regional inter-institutional consortium.

Survey of colleges and schools of veterinary medicine regarding education in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine.

Objective: To obtain information on educational programs offered in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) among AVMA Council on Education (COE)-accredited colleges and schools of veterinary medicine.

Design: Survey.

Sample: 41 COE-accredited colleges and schools of veterinary medicine.

Neural proliferation and restoration of neurochemical phenotypes and compromised functions following capsaicin-induced neuronal damage in the nodose ganglion of the adult rat.

We previously reported that neuronal numbers within adult nodose ganglia (NG) were restored to normal levels 60 days following the capsaicin-induced destruction of nearly half of the neuronal population. However, the nature of this neuronal replacement is not known. Therefore, we aimed to characterize neural proliferation, neurochemical phenotypes, and functional recovery within adult rat NG neurons following capsaicin-induced damage.

Recovery of viscerosensory innervation from the dorsal root ganglia of the adult rat following capsaicin-induced injury.

Capsaicin is a neurotoxin selective for C- and Adelta-type neurons. Systemic treatment with capsaicin is known to reduce this subpopulation in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of neonatal rats. To better understand the effects of capsaicin on adult afferent fibers, we examined DRG neurons retrogradely labeled by an i.

Expression of transient receptor potential channels and two-pore potassium channels in subtypes of vagal afferent neurons in rat.

Vagal afferent neurons relay important information regarding the control of the gastrointestinal system. However, the ionic mechanisms that underlie vagal activation induced by sensory inputs are not completely understood. We postulate that transient receptor potential (TRP) channels and/or two-pore potassium (K2p) channels are targets for activating vagal afferents.

Facilitating appreciation of anatomical variation and development of teamwork skills in the gross anatomy laboratory using a cadaver reassignment system.

Developing a mental map of the body in three dimensions incorporating normal anatomical variations is a challenge for students of gross anatomy. Acquisition of this ability is facilitated by frequently reassigning students to work on different specimens in gross anatomy laboratories, a significant departure from traditional teaching strategies. This article analyzes student and faculty experiences with a reassignment system over a six-year period, including effects on early professional development and students' attitudes toward the cadavers.

Comparison of gamma-aminobutyrate receptors in the medial vestibular nucleus of control and Scn8a mutant mice.

The Purkinje cells of the cerebellum provide inhibitory input to vestibular nucleus neurons, with gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA) as neurotransmitter. Using extracellular recordings and bath application of agonists and antagonists, we compared GABA receptors in the medial vestibular nucleus of brain slices from Scn8a mutant mice of med(J) type, in which there is greatly reduced spontaneous and evoked activity of Purkinje cells, to those in slices from control mice. Muscimol, an agonist at GABA(A) receptors, produced a larger reduction of firing rate in neurons of mutant mice than in neurons of control mice, whereas there was no difference for baclofen, an agonist at GABA(B) receptors.

A low-cost telemetry system suitable for measuring mouse biopotentials.

The ability to generate specific genetic mutations in mice is a powerful tool to study normal and pathophysiological function. In order to determine the effects of a mutation, measurement of physiological variables, such as biopotentials, is often necessary. However, such measurements can be particularly challenging to obtain from an awake, unrestrained mouse.

Reorganizing small animal gross anatomy: improving the faculty and student experience and incorporating non-technical competency development.

The organization of the small animal gross anatomy course at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine was modified in several ways over a two-year period. These modifications were motivated in part by the need to accommodate a larger number of students, but also by our desire to make more efficient use of faculty and student time as well as physical resources and to give our students opportunities to develop non-technical competencies such as communication and teamwork skills. The four major changes were (1) increasing dissection group size, (2) assigning specimens to dissection groups on a rotating basis, (3) reducing the amount of dissection time relative to time spent studying prepared specimens, and (4) introducing ''transition reviews,'' a limited form of peer teaching meant to emphasize peer interaction and communication skills rather than conveyance of specific and detailed subject matter.

Expression and distribution of TTX-sensitive sodium channel alpha subunits in the enteric nervous system.

The expression and distribution of TTX-sensitive voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) alpha subunits in the enteric nervous system (ENS) has not been described. Using RT-PCR, expression of Na(v)1.2, Na(v)1.

Allelic mutations of the sodium channel SCN8A reveal multiple cellular and physiological functions.

Allelic mutations of Scn8a in the mouse have revealed the range of neurological disorders that can result from alternations of one neuronal sodium channel. Null mutations produce the most severe phenotype, with motor neuron failure leading to paralysis and juvenile lethality. Two less severe mutations cause ataxia, tremor, muscle weakness, and dystonia.

High-resolution mapping of the sodium channel modifier Scnm1 on mouse chromosome 3 and identification of a 1.3-kb recombination hot spot.

Variation between inbred strains of mice can be used to identify modifier genes affecting the susceptibility to inherited disease. The medJ allele of the sodium channel Scn8a contains a splice site mutation that results in sodium channel deficiency. The severity of the neurological disorder is determined by the modifier locus Scnm1.

Molecular and pathological effects of a modifier gene on deficiency of the sodium channel Scn8a (Na(v)1.6).

Scn8a encodes an abundant, widely distributed voltage-gated sodium channel found throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Mice with different mutant alleles of Scn8a provide models of the movement disorders ataxia, dystonia, tremor and progressive paralysis. We previously reported that the phenotype of the hypomorphic allele of Scn8a, medJ, is dependent upon an unlinked modifier locus, Scnm1.

Mutations of voltage-gated sodium channels in movement disorders and epilepsy.

Spontaneous and induced mutations of neuronal Na+ channels in human patients and mutant mice result in a broad range of neurological-disease. Epilepsy, a disorder of neuronal hyperexcitability, has been associated with delayed inactivation of SCN2A in mice, and with altered kinetics of SCN1A in human patients. Movement disorders including tremor, ataxia, dystonia and paralysis have been observed in mice with mutations of SCN8A.