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December 2000
The first issue of Pioneering Neuroscience was published in May of this year and
contained articles that were contributed by students in Biology 363: Neurobiology.
These students were juniors and seniors at Grinnell College and most were either
majoring in Biology or Neuroscience. While this course was taking place in the Spring
of 2000, the Biology Department was formulating a new curriculum that would begin
the following Fall. This new curriculum would emphasize student-initiated learning and
research even more than the existing curriculum. In fact, the first course in the new
curriculum Bio 150: Introduction to Biological Inquiry would be a research-based
investigation into relatively narrow sub-disciplines in biology. Our overriding goal in this
first course was to give students an opportunity to be scientists. This meant
participating in authentic scientific inquiry. Students would actively participate in all
aspects of scientific research, from choosing their question to presenting the findings
of their research.
One of the seven sections of Biology 150 offered this year was "Introduction to
Biological Inquiry: The Language of Neurons." None of the 23 students in this course
had any college-level preparation in biology and most were in their first semester of
college. Nevertheless, they all became neuroscientists for a semester. Through a lot
of hard work, they developed the necessary skills and answered a novel question
pertaining to the function of chemical synapses. The fruits of their endeavors are
found, at least in part, on the following pages. As you will see, these pages contain
data and analyses dealing with some of the current issues in the physiology and
pharmacology of chemical synapses.
My initial plan was to collect these articles in a new journal that would be devoted to
this first year course in biology. When it became apparent that these articles would be
of similar (if not better) quality than those offered by junior and senior science majors in
the first issue of Pioneering Neuroscience, I decided a new journal was not necessary.
Instead, these articles would be included in volume 2 of Pioneering Neuroscience.
However, I had already told the students in Biology 150 that they would have an
opportunity to name their journal. The solution was to combine the name they chose,
The Grinnell Journal of Neurophysiology, with the original title, Pioneering Neuroscience.
In retrospect, combing these titles makes sense since this issue is both a continuation
of the tradition begun last spring and a new tradition in which all students at Grinnell
College may participate in authentic scientific research.
I wish to thank the students of "The Language Neurons" for their contributions to this
journal; the laboratory instructor, Sue Kolbe, who graciously contributed her teaching
skills and unrelenting enthusiasm; the teaching assistants, Rick Heineman, Laurel
Steinmetz, and Mike Chang, who provided three extra pairs of hands, which were
absolutely essential more than a few times during the semester; and Vicki Wade for
her excellent work in typesetting the journal. Lastly, I am pleased to acknowledge
Helen Carey, who contributed the cover illustration.
Clark Lindgren, Editor
December, 2000 Grinnell, Iowa
Chronic and acute applications of lithium have similar depressive effects on EPSPs in the
medial bundles of fast extensor muscles at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. [1Lake.pdf]
B. Lake, B. Lavelle & H. Mohamed
The effects of Dopamine, Methylphenidate, and Dopamine and Methylphenidate upon excitatory junctional potentials at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. [2Sandler.pdf]
R. Sandler & M. L. Bond
Long-term depression at the crayfish neuromuscular junction does not depend on inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis. [3Anderson.pdf]
E. B. Anderson, M. H. Hagenauer & E. C. Kelty
Morphine Sulfate and Naloxane Hydrochloride decrease EPSP amplitude at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. [4Gorski.pdf]
A. Gorski, M. Hainline & P. Pennington
2-Butoxyethanol and Dimethyl Sulfoxide influence potentiation by changing the efflux of Calcium from the presynaptic terminal in the crayfish neuromuscular junction. [5Pekarscaya.pdf]
K. Pekarscaya, Y.M. Thu & G. Walther
Postsynaptic glutamate receptors in the crayfish neuromuscular junction appear pharmacologically similar in the presence of Strychnine. [6Bailor.pdf]
S. Bailor, D. Brown & H. Carey
Preliminary experiments suggest Cytochalasin H decreases synaptic transmission at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. [7Runyowa.pdf]
T. Runyowa, M. Satzer & R. Walker
EPSP amplitudes at crayfish neuromuscular junctions are sensitive to methods of increasing glutamate concentrations in the synaptic cleft. [8kaler.pdf]
M. Kaler, J. Newton & K. Simmons
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