Alternatives Database

cLabs-SkinSenses

This interactive program provides a virtual laboratory equipped with realistic looking devices for extracellular action potential recordings from different types of mechano- and thermosensitive skin afferents. The students use an isolated piece of skin with 10 prepared single fibre afferents, whose characteristics are not presented. It is the students’ task to find out which kind of sensory receptors innervate the afferents and what are the characteristics of these receptors. A mechano- and thermostimulator, an oscilloscope and a chart recorder are provided. The recordings (stimuli, firing rate and interspike intervals) can be stored in a ‘data analysis lab’ for a more detailed examination of the response characteristics. The program additionally provides interactive tutorials for teaching sensory physiology and allows play back of typical examples of original impulse recordings from real experiments. Moreover, the advanced student can work with recently published scientific simulations of intrinsically oscillating thermo- and electrosensitive neurons.

Year of production: 2002 Medium: CD-ROM System requirements: Windows only - Win95 and later, plus an internet browser (Internet Explorer 4 or later recommended); Pentium II processor, with 32MB RAM and monitor with at least 16-bit colours (high colour) and 1024 x 768 resolution Price: €49.00 / US$45.00 (personal licence); €490.00 / US$450.00 (institute / school licence)