MA411 Specialisation in Physiology (10 ECTS) 

Course facts

Course code
MA411
Course title
Specialisation in Physiology
ECTS
10 ECTS
Course language
English
Semester
Spring
Academic responsible
Adam Sharples

Introduction

This course provides a deeper insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation we see in skeletal muscle during physical exercise and after alterations in nutrition. The course is of advanced content, designed to cover current and ‘hot’ topics in exercise and muscle physiology by members of staff who are undertaking and publishing research in those topics. The course is also designed to improve presentation skills, group work and the synthesis of complex research papers. These are all skills now required by all scientists, and skills that employers increasingly require. 

Learning outcomes

The students should:

  • understand which systems underlie cellular and molecular physical performance in skeletal muscle.
  • be able to explain important molecular adaptations to resistance training and the mechanisms that initiate and control these adaptations
  • be able to explain important cellular adaptations to exercise and the mechanisms that initiate and control these adaptations
  • be able to critically discuss results from key research in the area.

Learning styles and activities

In general a lecture will be given on two days in a given week (2.5 hours each lecture) e.g. in weeks 3,5,7. Then the same days in alternative weeks (e.g. weeks 4,6,8) students in groups of 2-3 will read 2-3 articles (1 article per group) based on the lecture content from the previous week and present one of the articles. Followed by questions and group discussion.

Please note: Students must read the course schedule on Canvas as some weeks the general organization described above maybe changed.

Assessment

Individual assignment, 14-day home exam. Graded A-F.

  • The answer must be a maximum of 6500 words including literature list. The exam questions and answers will be written in English. 

Please note that tasks delivered in WISEflow will be run through the plagiarism control program Urkund.

Core material

CORE MATERIAL:
1 BOOK:
Wackerhage H. (2014). Molecular exercise physiology: An introduction. Routledge.
* You will find the book in the Library, here: ORIA
** This book is also available online: Click here to download.
*** NB! To open electronic books off campus, you must use the following VPN connection: Click here to download.

6 REVIEW ARTICLES IN ELECTRONIC JOURNALS AND 1 BOOK CHAPTER:

** NB! To open electronic articles off campus, you must use the following VPN connection: Click here to download.

TOPIC: Molecular Exercise Physiology:  The molecular response and adaptation to resistance exercise:
Sharples, A. P. (2017). Cellular and molecular exercise physiology: A historical perspective for the discovery of mechanisms contributing to skeletal muscle adaptation. Cellular and Molecular Exercise Physiology, 5(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.7457/cmep.v5i1.e10
* This article is available online: Click here to download.

TOPIC: Does skeletal muscle have a memory?
Book chapter: 
Sharples, A. P. & Seaborne, R. A. (2019). Exercise and DNA methylation in skeletal muscle. I D. Barh & I. I. Ahmetov (Eds.), Sports, exercise, and nutritional genomics: Current status and future directions (pp. 211-229). Academic Press.
* This PDF is available through Canvas.
(Cleared through BOLK 15.11.21./NIH bibl. - AGG)

TOPIC: Train-low paradigms for endurance exercise and training:
Impey, S. G., Hearris, M. A., Hammond, K. M., Bartlett, J. D., Louis, J., Close, G. L., & Morton, J. P. (2018). Fuel for the work required: A theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodization and the glycogen threshold hypothesis. Sports medicine, 48(5), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7 
* This article is available online: Click here to download.

Hearris, M. A., Hammond, K. M., Seaborne, R. A., Stocks, B., Shepherd, S. O., Philp, A., Sharpels, A. P., Morton, J. P. & Louis, J. B. (2019). Graded reductions in preexercise muscle glycogen impair exercise capacity but do not augment skeletal muscle cell signaling: Implications for CHO periodization. Journal of Applied Physiology, 126(6), 1587-1597. http://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00913.2018 
* This article is available online: Click here to download.

TOPIC: Vitamin D in skeletal muscle and exercise:
Owens, DJ, Allison, R., & Close, GL (2018). Vitamin D and the athlete: Current perspectives and new challenges. Sports Medicine, 48 (Suppl. 1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0841-9
* This article is available online: Click here to download.
 
TOPIC: Cellular models for studying skeletal muscle adaptation:
Kasper, A. M., Turner, D. C., Martin, N. R. W. & Sharples, A. P. (2018). Mimicking exercise in three-dimensional bioengineered skeletal muscle to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms of physiological adaptation. Journal of Cellular Physiolohy, 233(3), 1985-1998. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.25840
* This article is available through Canvas.
(OK based on §15 of the Copyright Law)

TOPIC: Protein and skeletal muscle growth:
Reidy, P. T. & Rasmussen, B. B. (2016). Role of ingested amino acids and protein in the promotion of resistance exercise-induced muscle protein anabolism. Journal of Nutrition, 146(2), 155-183. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.114.203208
* This article is available online: Click here to download.