Reflex lab

What is reflex?
         It is the automatic response of a muscle to a stimulus.
What is the patellar reflex?
     This is the results from tapping the patellar tendon with a reflex hammer. This is below the knee.
It then stretches the muscle activates nerve impulses which then travel to the spinal cord.

We had in experiment where we use an EKG sensor to compare the speed of a voluntary vs. a reflex muscle action. And also to measure the relative strength of the impulse generated by a stimulus with and without reinforcement.

What we used:
Computer                               Logger Pro
Electrode Tabs                         Cable Tie, 10 cm long
Vernier Computer Interface             Cloth Tape Measure
Reflex Hammer                          Pen
Vernier EKG Sensor                     Vernier 25-g Accelerometer

Here is what we did:
 We connect the EKG Sensor and the Accelerometer to the Vernier computer interface
 After we open the file "14A Reflexes with ACC"
 Connect the Accelerometer to the Reflex Hammer
 Then Shelby (test subject) sat on the chair where she had enough room to move her foot freely
 We then attack two electrode tabs above her knee along the line of the quadriceps muscle which is between the knee and the hip.  Then we place a third electrode tan on the lower leg. After this we attach the red and green leads the electrode and a black one to the lower electrode. We then started to collect data as you can see below.  
 

In the graphs below the red shows the reflexes time and the blue shows the acceleration.

Here is the the data when she was somewhat resting.

Here is before hitting the knee. This is when she would close her eyes and use sound to kick her leg.

Here is when  we would hit the knee to test the reflex of it with the hammer.

And this is when we were hitting the knee fast with the reflex hammer.

Heart..

Leech Lab

      We did a leech lab online because the equipment for this lab is to expensive. The goal for this lab was to understand how to measure electrical impulses. We also learn how the neurons works.

 What we used:

Feather- Used to give the Leech skin a very gentle touch stimulation

Probe- Used for lifting, pushing, pressing

Forceps- Fine forceps for very fine manipulation

Scissors- Used to cut the Leech

Pins- Pinning tissue to the dissecting dish

Scalpel- Used to cut many thing

Dissection tray- To stick pins into it for any stabilize specimen for dissection

Leech tank- Keep leech in pond water

20% ethanol- Used to anesthetize the leech

Leech tongs- Used to pick up the leech

Dissection microscope- Binocular microscopes specifically for dissection and other micromanipulations

Micromanipulator- Used to position items with sub-micrometer precision in three dimensions

Oscilloscope- Its like a sophisticated volmeter
Leech- Test subject

 Here is what I did...

     I first grab the leech with the leech tongs and dip it in 20% ethanol solution to anesthetize it. I then stretched out the leech and pin it to the dissection tray. After I pinn the leech I then cut it open with the scissors. Using the forceps to carefully tease apart the skin. With the probe removed the guts and other stuff to expose the ventrally located nerve cord. When everything has been removed then go to the dissection microscope, here you'll be using the scalpel to make incision. Then cut a little piece of the leech and pin it to the dissection tray I headed to the dissection microscope. After that the micromanipulator came to action. Everything before this action was only for preparation for it. I first used a feather, then the probe and lastly the forceps to test the cell response. After I click on Dye Injection and then the UV Switch to identify the cell I got.

Down Below is the Cell Type that I could have gotten.  

  

On my first attempt I got R and on my last attempt I got T. 
In this lab I learn a lot about the leech and the nervous system. 


Click here if you'll like to do your own little attempt and see where I got all my information for this lab.

TOUCH

Neuromuscular Junction

Neuromuscular Junctions...

              In this comic that we have created we are talking about the muscles contract and relax. What causes these movements? Well muscles are controlled by the nervous system, which is run by nerve cells. All of these are attached they are then a stimulation, this is know as a motor unit.

This is step one where the nerve pulse reaches a synaptic end bulb, it triggers release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.  

The motor end plate contains receptors onto the free acetylcholine "ACh." This then causes ion channels to open and allow the sodium ions to then flow across the membrane into the muscle cell.  

This is the generation of muscle action potential.

Lastly this shows the breakdown of ACh.  This occurs within the synaptic cleft. 

GIANTS & midgets

SKELETON LABELING CONTEST

  

On our skeleton labeling contest we did good I would say. As a group we label 79 parts on our skeleton. As in individual I could have done more on my part to label more of the spinal core to help my group out. The spinal core is divided into five parts; Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, and Coccygeal. Even though we didn't win we  did good overall.