Neuromuscular Aspects of Exercise
An APK4115 Class with an international twist
Reflection
Neuromuscular aspects of exercise is a course that focuses on the muscular and neurological aspects of the human body. In this class we learn through class discussions, individual homework, projects, presentations, and more. One of the most interesting and novel aspects of this course is the internationalization portion. For this, students were required to learn from scientific data and research articles written by scientists from different countries. My team and I had the opportunity to interview Shalaya Kipp from Canada. When talking to her we were able to have thought provoking discussions about her research and see the differences and similarities between her culture and ours. Through this project, my group and I were able to expand our cultural knowledge and experience with a person from a different part of the world.
Final Project
I chose to make a paper mache representation of the neuromuscular junction. The last time I made something out of paper mache was years ago when I was a kid, so I wanted to try it again on my own. The neuron (blue) is made from a balloon, newspaper shreds, and paint. The pink tags on either side, along with the painted pink dots, are calcium channels and calcium particles respectively. The painted green circles are the vesicles that contain the neurotransmitters that will be released to the muscle via the neuromuscular gated channels on the motor end plate. These channels are represented by the teal/dark green folds of newspaper under the neuron. When the particles pass through these channels, they will contact and activate the muscle. The muscle is represented by the pink box. The pink box is a repurposed cereal box covered in newspaper shreds and paint. The idea to create a 3D model of the neuromuscular junction came to me when I was looking through the synaptic transmission slides (slide 20) in module 3. The neuromuscular junction is a key component of our class and is a very important structure in our bodies. It stimulates our muscles so we can move and enjoy life. Because of its prominent role in our bodies and my interest in the subject, I chose it to be the center of my creative project.
