The use of sucrose gap experiments with molluscan cardiac rhythmicity for undergraduate education in biomedical engineering

The ability to make measurements on and interpret data from living systems is important for 'undergraduate education in Biomedical Engineering. Traditional engineering laboratory courses are usually conducted in a time frame shorter than what is necessary for preparing living tissues and conducting biological experiments. This study reports the experience with an undergraduate engineering design course that combines neurophysiology and neuroengineering. Specifically, one of the experiments is to obtain simultaneously recordings of the electrical activity and the contractility of a muscle specimen. The entire heart of the Aplysia californica (oceanic mollusk) is used in a sucrose gap preparation. Neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and acetylcholine (ACh) are used to modulate the cardiac rhythmicity. The sucrose gap preparation prove to be an effective means to provide hand-on experience in neuromuscular physiology for undergraduate Biomedical Engineering students.