ALTEX :: Alternatives to Animal Experiments

1990, Volume 2

Alternatives to Animal Experimentation in University Education: Principles of Neurophysiology Exemplified by the Computer

Helmut Kettenmann¹, Thomas Mueller¹ and Melitta Schachner²

¹Neurobiologie der Universitaet D-Heidelberg; ²Neurobiologie der ETH Zurich, Hoenggerberg, CH-Zürich

SUMMARY

The basic physiology courses for students in biology and medicine include experiments on live animals or animal tissue. This article describes alternatives by replacing such experiments with simulation programs on personal computers. Programs for a neurophysiological experiment were developed at the Department of Neurobiology, University of Heidelberg, within the last years and have served to replace animal experiments in the basic training of biologists.

Keywords: education in neurophysiology, simulation programs, alternatives to animal experimentation