A Case-Based Neuroanatomy Laboratory on the Neurobiology of Psychiatric Conditions for Second-Year Medical Students
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INNOVATION
A Case-Based Neuroanatomy Laboratory on the Neurobiology of Psychiatric Conditions for Second-Year Medical Students Kirsten A. Porter-Stransky 1
&
Peter J. Vollbrecht 1
&
David R. Riddle 1
Accepted: 20 November 2020 # International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020
Abstract A case-based laboratory event integrating neuroanatomy, neuroscience, and psychiatry was implemented into a pre-clerkship psychiatry-based course for second-year medical students. Learners rotating through lab stations to work on different cases to make interdisciplinary connections among these fields is an innovative way for them to integrate foundational neurology, neuroanatomy, and psychiatry concepts. Keywords Psychiatry . Neuroscience . Anatomy . Neuroanatomy . Medical education . Neuropharmacology
The brain is the common organ between neurology and psychiatry. Although key psychiatric neuropathologies remain to be elucidated, neuroscience clearly is foundational to psychiatry, and defining the neurobiological mechanisms of complex behaviors as they relate to mental health disorders is a primary objective in the strategic plan of the National Institute of Mental Health. The mechanisms of action of most pharmacological treatments for psychiatric disorders involve neurotransmitter receptors, and neuroscience is the primary lens for new therapeutic targets. Nevertheless, relatively little integration of neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and psychiatry occurs in most undergraduate medical curricula. Generally, neuroscience is taught within the context of neurology, and neuroanatomy within an anatomy or neurology-focused course. Cross-disciplinary education in psychiatry and neurology is greatly needed yet limited in most undergraduate medical curricula [1]. In addition to minimal integration, many medical students and residents develop “neurophobia.” They perceive the neural sciences to be the most challenging of the biomedical sciences, struggle to recall neuroanatomy, and are less confident managing neurological conditions [2, 3]. There is need to
* Kirsten A. Porter-Stransky [email protected] 1
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
develop novel ways of teaching and integrating neuroscience content into different learning contexts that make neuroscience more accessible and memorable. Merging neuroscience and neuroanatomy with psychiatry education can provide additional context for learners to experience the material and make connections between psychiatric and neurological disorders and their biological underpinnings. To integrate the neural sciences with psychiatry instruction, the neuroscience faculty at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine created a casebased laboratory event for second-year medical students taking Behavioral Medicine, the second-to-last foundational biomedical science course prior to clerkships. Small groups of students (5–7 per group) first discussed a case and questio
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