Physiology 3140A: Cellular Physiology
Cell physiology is a third year course that deals with how a cell functions. This course is a prerequisite to some upper year medical science courses, especially fourth year physiology courses.
These are some of the topics covered in the course
- properties of cell membranes e.g. action potentials (a major part of the course), cable properties, and ionic distributions
- physiological genomics e.g. gene regulation and diseases
- cell signalling e.g. different types of cell receptors, mediators of cell signalling, and pathways
Resources
- lecture notes in compiled into a study guide
Midterm Exam (40%)
Overview
One of the main things that stood out about the exam was the amount of multiple multiples (a type of multiple choice question). These aren’t too bad though if you can use logic and process of elimination to reduce the amount of reading you need to do. There aren’t really any other surprises besides this. Lots of key concepts tested i.e. AP and reasons for each of the phases, resting membrane potential, synaptic transmission, some little details here and there about ion channels, channel blockers and ion channel measurement.
Format: 64 Multiple choice questions, 2 hours
- 19 “normal” Multiple choice questions
- 45 Multiple multiple choice questions which had the following format usually asking which of the following are true:
1. Statement 1
2. Statement 2
3. Statement 3
4. Statement 4
A. 1, 2, 3 correct
B. 1, 3 correct
C. 2, 4 correct
D. 4 only
E. all (1-4) correct
The first set of 19 questions wasn’t too bad. I’ve listed some of the main types of questions that showed up on the exam.
Content:
1. Calculation questions: Most of these involved using the Nernst equation in various settings i.e. different temperatures or for different ions. There wasn’t anything really difficult here. You should be fine as long as you have practiced working with the formula. Just remember that you have to flip the fraction for anions if you don’t want to deal with the negative sign! (i.e. think about what you do for the Cl- ion)
2. Details about ion channels and channel blockers (i.e. how many subunits certain channels have i.e. ionotropic channels, gap junctions). There was one question which asked about the substance that blocks K+ delayed rectifier channels. The answer is TEA.
3. General questions on AP i.e. what contributes to hyperpolarization
For the second set of questions, there were a wide variety of concepts tested:
1. Measurement of Ion Channel Activity: I know most students spent a lot of time review this part but there weren’t actually that many questions on this. The questions that came up weren’t really difficult either. You just had to know generally what happens in each of the methods. I remember one question that asked about which configurations would cause wash-out of cell contents.
2. Ionic Distribution: It’s a good idea to memorize the ion distribution concentrations and equilibrium potentials. You should know which ions are higher outside/inside the cell.
3. Passive Membrane Properties: You should know what factors affect capacitance (think of the equations you have studied). Though there weren’t that many calculations for this second set of questions, be familiar with the relationships between the variables i.e. effect of decreasing or increasing time constant on temporal summation,
4. Action Potential: Probably by far the most heavily tested concept on this exam. There probably won’t be any surprises for you if you have taken the time to understand what happens at every phase of the AP and what the underlying mechanisms are that contribute to each phase i.e. what causes absolute and relative refractory periods, etc. You should know the details too (i.e. the sequences responsible for Na+ and K+ voltage-gated channel inactivation)
5. Cable properties: Again, be clear about the relationships between each of the variables of the equations you studied i.e. what happens to time constant when you increase radius and membrane resistance. I don’t actually remember having to do many calculations (maybe 2-3?)
6. Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity: Transmission stuff is similar to what we’ve already talked about though there are some additional details on electrical and chemical synapses i.e. glutamate receptors. Be very clear on the differences and similarities between EPSP and IPSP and I think there was one question on long-term potentiation/depression.
Retrospective
I thought there would be more application questions, but I definitely didn’t see so many multiple multiples coming. There seemed to be a lot of questions on relatively straightforward concepts. Things like AP which we’ve learned many times over. My suggestions on doing well on this exam would be to:
1. Be clear on all phases of the APs and the reasons for each phase. Other key concepts include resting membrane potential, ionic distributions, synaptic plasticity etc.
2. Memorize details on ion channels (yes, you’ll need to know the number of subunits for each channel and the special domains on it), blockers, ion channel methods of measurement, ionic distributions and equilibrium potentials.
3. Use logic and process of elimination to reduce the amount of reading on multiple multiples. This will give you enough time to check over your work after. See the “Articles” section of this website for more details on writing multiple choice tests and how to handle multiple multiples.
These are some of the topics covered in the course
- properties of cell membranes e.g. action potentials (a major part of the course), cable properties, and ionic distributions
- physiological genomics e.g. gene regulation and diseases
- cell signalling e.g. different types of cell receptors, mediators of cell signalling, and pathways
Resources
- lecture notes in compiled into a study guide
Midterm Exam (40%)
Overview
One of the main things that stood out about the exam was the amount of multiple multiples (a type of multiple choice question). These aren’t too bad though if you can use logic and process of elimination to reduce the amount of reading you need to do. There aren’t really any other surprises besides this. Lots of key concepts tested i.e. AP and reasons for each of the phases, resting membrane potential, synaptic transmission, some little details here and there about ion channels, channel blockers and ion channel measurement.
Format: 64 Multiple choice questions, 2 hours
- 19 “normal” Multiple choice questions
- 45 Multiple multiple choice questions which had the following format usually asking which of the following are true:
1. Statement 1
2. Statement 2
3. Statement 3
4. Statement 4
A. 1, 2, 3 correct
B. 1, 3 correct
C. 2, 4 correct
D. 4 only
E. all (1-4) correct
The first set of 19 questions wasn’t too bad. I’ve listed some of the main types of questions that showed up on the exam.
Content:
1. Calculation questions: Most of these involved using the Nernst equation in various settings i.e. different temperatures or for different ions. There wasn’t anything really difficult here. You should be fine as long as you have practiced working with the formula. Just remember that you have to flip the fraction for anions if you don’t want to deal with the negative sign! (i.e. think about what you do for the Cl- ion)
2. Details about ion channels and channel blockers (i.e. how many subunits certain channels have i.e. ionotropic channels, gap junctions). There was one question which asked about the substance that blocks K+ delayed rectifier channels. The answer is TEA.
3. General questions on AP i.e. what contributes to hyperpolarization
For the second set of questions, there were a wide variety of concepts tested:
1. Measurement of Ion Channel Activity: I know most students spent a lot of time review this part but there weren’t actually that many questions on this. The questions that came up weren’t really difficult either. You just had to know generally what happens in each of the methods. I remember one question that asked about which configurations would cause wash-out of cell contents.
2. Ionic Distribution: It’s a good idea to memorize the ion distribution concentrations and equilibrium potentials. You should know which ions are higher outside/inside the cell.
3. Passive Membrane Properties: You should know what factors affect capacitance (think of the equations you have studied). Though there weren’t that many calculations for this second set of questions, be familiar with the relationships between the variables i.e. effect of decreasing or increasing time constant on temporal summation,
4. Action Potential: Probably by far the most heavily tested concept on this exam. There probably won’t be any surprises for you if you have taken the time to understand what happens at every phase of the AP and what the underlying mechanisms are that contribute to each phase i.e. what causes absolute and relative refractory periods, etc. You should know the details too (i.e. the sequences responsible for Na+ and K+ voltage-gated channel inactivation)
5. Cable properties: Again, be clear about the relationships between each of the variables of the equations you studied i.e. what happens to time constant when you increase radius and membrane resistance. I don’t actually remember having to do many calculations (maybe 2-3?)
6. Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity: Transmission stuff is similar to what we’ve already talked about though there are some additional details on electrical and chemical synapses i.e. glutamate receptors. Be very clear on the differences and similarities between EPSP and IPSP and I think there was one question on long-term potentiation/depression.
Retrospective
I thought there would be more application questions, but I definitely didn’t see so many multiple multiples coming. There seemed to be a lot of questions on relatively straightforward concepts. Things like AP which we’ve learned many times over. My suggestions on doing well on this exam would be to:
1. Be clear on all phases of the APs and the reasons for each phase. Other key concepts include resting membrane potential, ionic distributions, synaptic plasticity etc.
2. Memorize details on ion channels (yes, you’ll need to know the number of subunits for each channel and the special domains on it), blockers, ion channel methods of measurement, ionic distributions and equilibrium potentials.
3. Use logic and process of elimination to reduce the amount of reading on multiple multiples. This will give you enough time to check over your work after. See the “Articles” section of this website for more details on writing multiple choice tests and how to handle multiple multiples.