Project Description

Biomedical Science

"Reflex Control of Blood Pressure" is a standalone CD-ROM tutorial, aimed to assist 1st-year Medical students understand the baroreceptor reflex, which maintains blood supply to the brain during changes in posture, blood volume etc. This reflex is one of the best and most simple examples of negative feedback, where an initial signal invokes responses to decrease the signal (eg. an initial drop in blood pressure triggers a set of responses that act to increase blood pressure, to return it to its set point).

Traditionally, the function of this reflex has been taught in lectures, using diagrams of a 'black box' to describe what was happening to nerve impulses in the brain. Not surprisingly, students memorised the diagram, but had little understanding of how negative feedback occurred.

"Reflex Control of Blood Pressure" provides introductory information on the regions of the brain involved in this reflex pathway, definitions of feedback control, introduction to the symbols used to represent elements of a neural pathway, The major section of the program is a model-building exercise, where students manipulate nervous system components to construct their own reflex pathway, and then can test this by increasing the blood pressure. Feedback in the form of animations and text panels is provided for every combination of elements. Once the model is completed, the effects of postural changes can be investigated. A case study is included, and a paper-based Tasks sheet is supplied in the classroom (the questions from this Tasks sheet are also included in the program.)