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The Manipulation of the Heart - Testing the Effect of Liquid Hormones on Crayfish EKGs

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Exploring a variety of stimuli and their effect on cardiac activity

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By Andrew Weber

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Reaction TIme and Outside Effects

Paul Moriarty

University of New Hampshire

Abstract

The nervous system controls movement to the other parts of the body. Though consistent it can be easily changed or manipulated based on circumstances. For this experiment individuals had their movement measured and were given ice cream to detect changes in reaction time. The hypothesis was that there would be a change in heart rate and a prediction of an increase. The results were insufficient and did not support the hypothesis of change as the data was inconsistent. From the data collected reasons why the experiment was inconclusive and other experiments arose.

Introduction

The nervous system is responsible for all majority of movement in the body. It can detect changes within the environment and how it affects the body. (Derrickson 2016) In order to do so there is a complex systems of neurons which relay information from various points along the body and form movement. (Derrickson 2016) Movement can be voluntary or involuntary and there are ways we can test movement in our bodies including the knee reflex.

The knee reflex is the movement of the leg based upon hitting the deep tendon located within the knee. (EB 2019) Tapping of the patellar ligament stimulates the muscle to move and cause a kicking motion. (BYJUS 2019) This action is involuntary and results from the strike however manipulation can be done where the effect can change.

For our experiment we proposed that the ingestion of something may alter the reflex timing. Our hypothesis was the ingestion would change the reaction time and there would be a difference in prior and post ingestion. We chose ice cream as it acts as a stress reliever in the body as it helps calm the nervous system with L-triptophane.  (Nick 2019) Our prediction was that since it relaxes the muscles reaction time would go down.

Methods

Eight individuals were fitted with electrodes to measure the reflexes of the knee, two above and one below. The reflexes were measured on logger pro and each group member was hit in the reflex at random five times to get a baseline. After the initial trial each member was given a serving of two scoops of ice cream and a delay of 30 minutes to allow the body to ingest the ice cream and for the L-triptophane to spread amongst the nervous system. Upon the 30 minutes ending the subjects were again attached with electrodes in the same areas to measure their reaction times. Once measured in logger pro the data was collected and compared amongst the two groups.

Results

Figure 1 (Top Left) shoes an individual prior to eating ice cream and Figure 2 (Top Right) is an individual after eating. Both figures are from the same individual.

Our initial hypothesis was that there would be a change amongst the reflexes with the ingestion of ice cream with a prediction of significant change. The data did not support our hypothesis as the results were insufficient and inconsistent. Individuals displayed random waves amongst both groups and there was no correlation between them.

Discussion

Our initial hypothesis was that there was a change in reaction time once ice cream was eaten in the knee reflex.Upon concluding the experiment the results did not support the hypothesis as the data was insufficient. Reasons why this may have happened may be faulty equipment. The reader for logger pro was inconsistent in reading data at times and settings were tough to navigate which may have inadvertently skewed the data. Another reason may be the quantity of ice cream, those with larger bodies or smaller bodies may have needed more or less to show signs of an effect. As well as diet, if someone eats ice cream on the regular as opposed to eating it very little to no time at all there would be a difference in reaction to the ice cream.

Future directions for this experiment may be testing with different food to potentially yield different results. Another direction may be test if the weight has a factor in the reflex as well as tolerance of ice cream. Potentially other reflexes amongst the nervous system can be tested as well as they may yield different information than the knee reflex.

Work Cited

BYJUS. (2019). Nervous system - Reflex Action, Voluntary and Involuntary Action. [online] Available at: https://byjus.com/biology/nervous-system-coordination/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2019].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). Knee-jerk reflex | medical test. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/knee-jerk-reflex [Accessed 13 Nov. 2019].

Nick, J. (2019). Deep Tendon Reflexes, Magnesium, and Calcium: Assessments and Implications. [online] Cmapspublic.ihmc.us. Available at: https://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/rid=1190392629982_1846239176_11875/0884217504263145.pdf [Accessed 13 Nov. 2019].

Tortora, G.J., Derrickson, B. (2016). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (15th edition). J. Wiley.

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For our third blog post we had to talk about the heart rate and measuring our heart rate. Was an interesting lab cause we did various different things. From banging our knees with shovels to observing crayfish heart rates and even testing cold water and heart rate.

In order to do so we checked our own heart rates first and monitored them periodically. From time to time we would see spikes but nothing to severe but then we were instructed to hold our breaths which showed change. Then we tested our knees and reflex to show how it changed our heart rate showing a spike as a cause to the reflex. From their we tested the reflex when we weren’t expecting it. Having our fellow classmates blindfold themselves and we tested their knee reflexes and heart rate change when they weren’t expecting it and we saw data however it wasn’t sufficient as the results were very mixed. As well as human heart rate we monitored that of crayfish and had them monitored at different stages including rest, defensive position of a predator, and free swimming.

The last and my personal favorite was testing heart rate in ice water. The professor asked for a volunteer and I didn’t mind it was only water. What I had to do was hold my breath for thirty seconds in ice water as we measured my heart rate which meant I was going to be very cold. We saw my heart rate spike during the cold water test and for good reason, I was cold and wasn't breathing during it. It was definitely a unique lab and though our data was mixed lead to some interesting tests and experiments.

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Can ice cream enhance reflex reaction time?

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Can ice cream enhance reflex reaction time?

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