A peek into test week

Oh what fun.... it's test week. We have an exam this Friday. Neurology - this test spans 5 weeks of information, over 40 lectures + lab + pbl cases. I think this is the most info we've had on a single exam since anatomy.
Life tends to change during exam week. Everyone is a little bit tenser, stress fills the air, the library and study rooms fill with people. We tend to hide ourselves away in our own little worlds - either a cubby in the library or wherever your little space may be. Small groups here and there reviewing.
For me - it means more time at school. These are the weeks where I feel like I live at school. These are the days where I pack up all of my food for the day. Lunch, snacks, and dinner - all get thrown into my awesome lunch pail (not really a pail, but more of a bag), because I know I won't be making it home until probably around 10 or 11.

But it's not all bad. It's these stressful days or review sessions when things seem funnier. When we make up the most random pneumonics or make idiotic connections hoping we'll remember it for the exam.
(ex. Benzodiazepines - mechanism of action is by increasing the frequency that Cl- channels are open. BenzOdiazepines - O - for open, open, open) - yup that's how I remember what Benzos do)
And how do we remember what Kallmann's syndrome is? - well in class our prof informed us it is a guy with small balls, who can't smell - that's right - that's what I remember
- the problem is X-linked and due to a mutation in cell adhesion molecules that guide the development of axonal growth. It causes problems in nerves growing to the olfactory bulb and those cells that secrete hormones relating to gonad development to migrate to the correct places.

The coolest thing I learned yesterday, which of course will most likely not be tested is... Capsaicin which can be used medically as a non-opioid analgesic (decrease pain) - is found in hot peppers and pepper spray. The way it works is it causes the release of all of this painful neurotransmitter - Substance P and by depleting the stores of this painful stimulus it thus stops pain. The original release of Substance P is very painful (which is why it works for pepper spray). So if it is given as an analgesic medically - they first would use a local anesthetic so the patient would not feel that initial pain. The cooler part of this whole lesson is that plants that have Capsaicin in their fruits have their seeds distributed by birds. If mammals eat these fruits their digestive tract digests the seeds, so they are unable to grow - this is why these plants produce capsaicin, because it is painful and hopefully this will deter these animals that will digest the seeds from eating their fruits. Whereas birds find capsaicin to be an analgesic - so birds should be more likely to eat these fruits and thus distribute the seeds.

If you managed to stay with me throughout this entire post - congrats. This is where my mind lives during test week. I can't help it. 2 more days.....