How can I effectively study for neuroanatomy?

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TigerLilies

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I'm a nonscience major and so this is my first upper-level bio class. There is a ton of info to memorize. How should I effectively study for it? Should I make flash cards? My exam is Monday and so I still have the weekend to study.

Thanks!
 
For nueroanatomy I don't think that flashcards would be the best, its more than just individual pieces of information, its what connects to what and through how. I would start by diagraming major pathways and then asking yourself how they work and for what purpose, always keeping the whole system in mind.
 
tdd340 said:
For nueroanatomy I don't think that flashcards would be the best, its more than just individual pieces of information, its what connects to what and through how. I would start by diagraming major pathways and then asking yourself how they work and for what purpose, always keeping the whole system in mind.
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I agree, flashcards aren't the way to go. I used clinical cases and some other resources that showed neuroanatomy in 3-D--I think it was the University of Washington Website?
 
get this book: Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple. It is really random and funny, which makes you remember all the really difficult things you have to know in neuroanat. It got me through medical neuroanat so I would really reccommend it, I tell everyone...
 
Just an idea, I find it helpful to write reviews on all of the material covered. Verbalizing what I've vizualized really cements difficult concepts for myself. If it's strictly anatomy, try drawing structures. Make your own little cartoonish drawings - anything that will spark your memory during the exam.
 
is it anatomically or functionally based, or both?

if all you really need to memorize is anatomy, I recommend looking at as many pictures as possible. I found Haines to be extremely helpful. There are also tools around the internet you can use. I can think of one on Harvard's website off the top of my head. I'll see if I can find those URLs for you later.

Basically what I've always done is just looked and looked and looked. It all makes sense eventually.
 
TigerLilies said:
I'm a nonscience major and so this is my first upper-level bio class. There is a ton of info to memorize. How should I effectively study for it? Should I make flash cards? My exam is Monday and so I still have the weekend to study.

Thanks!
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We're doing our neuro block right now. I recommend drawing the pathways out. It helps me remember them if I draw them, anyway. Also models can be really helpful. Does your prof have any brain models for you to look at?
 
CCLCMer said:
We're doing our neuro block right now. I recommend drawing the pathways out. It helps me remember them if I draw them, anyway. Also models can be really helpful. Does your prof have any brain models for you to look at?
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spicedmanna said:
Brilliant suggestion. 👍 I basically drew the pathways out, over and over...
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dorsal column medial lemniscal
anterlateral

these are the only two pathways i remember from the exam i took a few weeks ago.
 
inside_edition said:
dorsal column medial lemniscal
anterlateral

these are the only two pathways i remember from the exam i took a few weeks ago.
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You got the sensory pathways down. 👍 We covered those last week. Main motor pathway: corticospinal. We're doing that this week, so I haven't forgotten yet. 😛
 
CCLCMer said:
You got the sensory pathways down. 👍 We covered those last week. Main motor pathway: corticospinal. We're doing that this week, so I haven't forgotten yet. 😛
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yeah, i remember. that's the other pathway. (that one has a similar pathway to one of the two i mentioned above).

let me give you an example of a question i had on my test

While riding his bicycle, a student is hit by a car and suffers damage to his cervical spinal cord. During examination at a hospital, the neurologist determines that the anterolateral pathway and corticospinal tract on the right side have been completely severed (cut). Which symptoms below BEST describe the consequence of this injury?

i didn't list the answer choices, but i'm sure you can just list the stuff(and sides) he can't sense anymore.
 
CCLCMer said:
You got the sensory pathways down. 👍 We covered those last week. Main motor pathway: corticospinal. We're doing that this week, so I haven't forgotten yet. 😛
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how many total pathways are there? and how many do you have to know in medschool and to what depth?
 
inside_edition said:
how many total pathways are there? and how many do you have to know in medschool and to what depth?
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in the lower spinal cord or what? a lot of them are just in the brainstem.

off the top of my head though:

anterolateral
DCML
vestibulospinal
tectospinal
rubrospinal
dorsolateral
spinothalamic

there are several more that I can't think of at the moment.

those are just some from my graduate class, not med school.
 
armybound said:
in the lower spinal cord or what? a lot of them are just in the brainstem.

off the top of my head though:

anterolateral
DCML
vestibulospinal
tectospinal
rubrospinal
dorsolateral
spinothalamic

there are several more that I can't think of at the moment.

those are just some from my graduate class, not med school.
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i learned mine in an advanced undergrad class.

also, how indepth are immunology classes in medschool?
 
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