INTESTINAL MOTILITY - A COMPUTER-SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DRUGS ON COLONIC PERISTALSIS, FOR TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE PHARMACOLOGY STUDENTS

An interactive computer-assisted learning (GAL) program, which simulat es experiments performed on segments of rat colon (in vitro) to study the pharmacology of intestinal motility, is described. The program cov ers: a) the actions of drugs that affect cholinergic excitatory neurot ransmission in the colon; b) the effects of sympathomimetic amines; an d c) an investigation of the mechanism of action of the laxative, phen olphthalein. The program can be run on any IBM-compatible PC, and make s use of text and high-resolution graphics to provide a background to the experiments and to describe the methodology. The screen display em ulates a chart recorder, and simulated results, derived from actual da ta, are presented, in response to student selection of pre-determined experimental protocols from a menu. The program is aimed at undergradu ate students, and is intended to support or replace a conventional lab oratory practical class, while achieving the majority of the same teac hing and learning objectives.