Lab-NMDAR: simulators of NMDA receptor’s basic electrophysiology

Abstract

The development of educational software that allows the implementation of laboratory practices is necessary. This paper presents the design and development of the Lab-NMDAR program, consisting of three simulators for the teaching-learning of NMDA receptor electrophysiology: (1) NMDAR-Blocking Mg²⁺ simulator, (2) NMDAR-Glycine simulator, and (3) single channel NMDA-Blocking Mg²⁺ simulator. The program was implemented in Visual Basic® for Windows® environment. With these simulators the student knows the NMDA current, reproduces its dependence on voltage, simulates its blocking by magnesium in macroscopic current recordings and in a single channel, determines the involvement of NMDA and glycine in NMDA receptor activation and produces virtual dose-response experiments. The program is easy to use, it runs on a personal computer with minimal resources.