Reflexes Lab Analysis

In this lab, we tested out numerous types of reflexes, including the photo pupillary reflex, the knee jerk reflex, the blink reflex, the babe, and what's your sign reflex. Proceeding this, we tested our response times to catching a falling meterstick while texting and without it. In our notes, we learned that neurons are responsible for transmitting various messages from one area of the body to another while reflexes are involuntary actions that that the body does as a response to various stimuli. We also learned that a reflex arc is a nerve pathway. 

The Reflexes
A. The Photopupillary Reflex

Claim: As there is an increased amount of light entering the eye, there is a photopulillary reflex which causes the iris's colliery body to be stimulated. This causes it to contract. This results to the pupil decreasing in size due to the decreased amount of light entering the eye. 

Evidence: My partner covered her eye with a hand for a few minutes and after, we shined a flashlight close to an eye. The pupil's size decreased due to the decreased amount of light entering the eye. 

B. Knee Jerk Reflex

Claim: The knee jerk reflex transfers from the sensory neurons to the spinal cord and the motor neuron and finally to the knee. The knee jerk reflex is also called the monosynaptic reflex since only a single synapse in the circuit is required with the reflex. We were able to see this after repeated attempts of using the reflex hammer to find the correct part on the knee. 

Evidence: After several repeated attempts of my partner bruising my knee with a reflex hammer, my knee was able to kick out after she hit the right part of the knee. 

Reasoning: The reflex hammer causes a stretch in the thigh muscle which causes information to be sent to the spinal cord. Shortly after, the synapse is sent to the ventral horn in the spinal cord and goes back to the thigh muscle. 

C: Blind Reflex

Claim: The blind reflex is a result of the eyelid automatically closing after something rapidly comes to the eye. This was observed after both my partner and I blinked when cotton balls were thrown at us. 

Evidence: I held up a piece of saran wrap and my partner threw a cotton ball at me and I blinked. My partner also blinked when we reversed roles, showing the 

effects of the blink reflex. 

Reasoning: On average, people blink 15 times per minute or 14,400 times a day and by blinking, we are able to prevent small pieces of dust and other objects from entering our eyes.

Part 4: Babe, what's your sign

Claim: The plantar reflex occurs when the sole of the foot is stimulated using a blunt object e.g. a pen cap. When we dragged a pen from the sole of the foot to the base of the big toe, we noticed that our toes not only moved closer together but also flexed. 

Evidence: After taking off my shoes and socks, my partner took a pen with a cap and dragged it from the heel to the base of the big toe. We observed that the toes flexed and moved more closely together. 

Reasoning: This reflex is a response when the body receives a specific stimuli, showing that the plantar reflex works properly in our bodies. When there is nerve damage, there is a possibility that the toes will spread apart and upward; this is called Babinski's sign. 

Part 5: How Fast are You?

In this activity, we tested reaction time, in which our brain transferred a motor command to the arm/hand muscles. I had my partner hold the highest part of a meterstick and let it hang down while I put my hand on the bottom and was ready to catch the ruler. We documented the level at which we caught the meterstick. After three trials, we took the average time and used the table on the lab to convert the distance into the number of milliseconds. 

While my partner's time was .13 seconds, my time was .25 seconds. We perceived that the difference in time was primarily caused by the fact that my partner spends a large portion of her time playing softball; as a pitcher, she requires quick reflexes in order to avoid being hit by the ball. 

We redid the test again while texting; we realized that our times increased. For instance, my partner's time went up to .185 seconds while my time was .26 seconds; this shows that although while answering a text may appear to be important while texting, it can cause a delay in reaction time, which may cause a crash to occur. 

Class Table:

Our class's results for "How Fast are You?"

Learning more about the Brain

By using the Brain Map, an interactive website which allows you to locate where each part of the brain is located, I was able to learn more in depth about synapses, the frontal lobes, and the neo-cortex. 

1) What do the frontal lobes do?

The frontal lobe is responsible for a large number of functions, including controlling your behavior, remembering different tasks, and making decisions. While the left side of the frontal love is primarily language-based, the right side is responsible for other functions. 

2) What is the relationship between selective attention and learning?

Selective attention differs from learning in which it shows how selective an individual is when retaining information since it allows the memory to prioritize important information and forget about unimportant tasks. 

3) What is the last part of your brain to develop and what can you do to prevent it from deteriorating? 

The frontal lobe is the last part of your brain to develop and deteriorate. This can be stopped through exercising. 

4) What does the neo cortex do?

The neo cortex controls motor skills.

5) What is the role of the pre frontal cortex?

The pre frontal cortex is responsible for your personality and is also responsible for helping individuals to process their thoughts. 

6)What do we know about the pre frontal cortex’s relationship with multitasking?

There is a central bottleneck in the pre-frontal cortex, which acts as a mechanism that prevents people from completing multiple tasks at once. The reality is that while multitasking may seem to be an efficient way to complete numerous tasks, it negatively impacts the results of the tasks. 

7) Which part of the brain is associated with speech and language development?  Give an interesting fact about this region.

Broca's Area is responsible for speech production, language comprehension. It was interesting to see how some individuals who had defects in this region were still able to communicate with others, so other parts of the brain may have been able to complete this task. 

8) Which part of your brain is responsible for thinking the following: “Is it hot in here or is it just me?”

The Somatosensory Cortex. 

9) What does your visual cortex do for you?

The visual cortex helps to differentiate colors and different objects. 

10) State three interesting or significant facts about your occipital lobe.

The occipital lobe is responsible for processing information since it collects a large amount of visual data. It's also responsible for processing various memories.  

11) What would happen if your temporal lobes were damaged?

Because the temporal lobe is responsible for helping to hear; without it, it would be nearly impossible to listen to what other individuals were saying. 

12) What is your “fast brain” and what does it do?

This part of the brain carries out functions quickly. 

Neuron

13) State 3 things that you could do that would influence your synapses, and have a positive affect on your life and health.

Eating a healthy diet rich with nutrients and exercising are both beneficial in helping the body. Also, communicating with others (not through a screen) is an effective way to improve one's overall well-being.

14) What is the relationship between multi-sensory or multi-modal learning and your dendrites?

By continuing to remember information multiple times, it helps the brain to permanently retain the information. With various parts of the brain storing information on the same subject, it allows the brain to connect previously learned ideas with the new knowledge. 

15) How does “big picture thinking” and mnemonics affect dendrites and/or learning?

Rather than attempting to memorize solely facts, an easier way to remember ideas/concepts would be to connect the idea with something that relates to our interests or makes it easier to remember. 

16) Describe a neurotransmitter that you feel is very important.  Justify your reasoning.

Acethylcoline (ACH) is an important neurotransmitter that helps the cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle contract. 

Limbic System

17) What does the corpus callosum do?

It's responsible for helping you develop cognitive, motor, and sensory functions. 

18) What is the relationship between music and the corpus callosum? 

Music is proven to be beneficial in strengthening the two hemispheres of the brain. 

19) Why is the thalamus important?

The thalamus is responsible for regulating motor control and processing sensory information. 

Relate and Review 

Summarize what you learned from this tutorial.  Relate what you learned to your everyday life and how you can make it better.  Use at least 5 of the bolded words from the questions.  5-sentence minimum. You may use the back of this if needed.

In general, I thought that the Brain Map was pretty helpful in helping me learn about how the brain plays such a vital role in regulating cognitive/motor/sensory functions, maintaining homeostasis, learning languages, and processing information. While some parts of the brain are able to fulfill some important parts of the brain, other parts, including the hypothalamus and thalamus. In a previous blog post, I discussed why the hypothalamus's role can't be replaced be another part of the brain; with the hypothalamus being the sole part of the brain that regulates homeostasis, having a damaged hypothalamus would alter one's ability to maintain a stable body temperature. Similarly, the thalamus plays a large role in regulating the sleep/wake cycles, which plays a large role in helping us control our schedules.