Cardio Lab

We started off the 4th quarter finishing a huge cardio lab. In this lab we were recording if different genres of movies changed the heart rate. The first trial we had six subject watching Step Brothers (funny), Up (sad),  and Insidious (scary). The second trial we had the same test subjects and they watched the movies Pool Fails (funny), Marley and Me (sad), and The Conjuring (scary). After watching each of these we recorded the heart rates and you can find them below on the picture of the poster we made. We decided that the scary movies would cause you to have a greater heart rate change. Unfortunately the horror movies had the lowest percent change (-19%), which shows that the horror does not change the heart rate like we expected. The funny movies had the highest heart rate change (19%). Our hypothesis was proven wrong by our data; in the fact the opposite occurred. After collecting all the data, we printed it out and made a poster. Down below you will find all the information on the poster and you will see what you just read is a brief summary of it.

• Hypothesis- If the subjects watched three different film genre clips, then the horror film clip would most likely cause the greatest increase in heart rate because of the perceived danger within the clip.
• Problem-Our group monitored the heart rate of our 6 tests subjects, to decided if the genre of movie clip they watched (Horror, Comedy, Drama) affected, their heart rate.

• Materials

  • Computer
  • Six different movie clips
  • 2 of each genre (Comedy, Drama, Horror)
  • Digital Blood Pressure Monitor
  • A variety of test subjects (3 females, 3 males)

• Procedure-
1. Our group began our experiment by picking out three different types of movie clips(comedy, horror, drama).
2. We then found six volunteers to watch the movie clips, three being girls and the other three being boys.
3. We recorded their initial heart rates before the start of the short clip and then after the end of each to be able to  compared them.
4. We then picked out three more movie clips (comedy, horror, drama).
5. The same six people watched the second set of clips. (the purpose of this was to be able to compare each persons personal results, from the first test results).
6. Step 3 was then repeated in step 6, (The heart rates of the people were recorded before the starting of the clip and after each clip again).
7. After we got all of our test subjects to finishing watching both sets of clips we recorded their individual results into a graph ALONG with a graph of all of the test subjects results together.
• Abstract- Do different movie genres affect your heart rate? That’s the question this experiment set out to answer. We thought that if people watched sad, funny, and horror movie clips, then their heart rates would increase the most during the horror movie because of the perceived danger within the clip. To test this, the heart rates of each test subject were measured at the start of the experiments and then after each clip.  They watched a funny, sad, then horror clip. This process was repeated in a second trial. When you view the graphs, the horror test has the lowest percent changes (-19%), showing that horror does not increase the heart rate like we expected. Instead, the comedy clips has the highest percent changes (19%). This proves that comedies will increase heart rates more than sad or horror movies will.

Virtual Cardiology Lab

Down below are going to be pictures of the virtual cardiology lab we did online. The link to the lab is http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/cardiology-virtual-lab. In this lab I learned how a stethoscope and  echocardiogram work. Also, below are some questions I answered while completing this lab.

1. When a doctor uses a stethoscope, what is being monitored?
     -The sound made by the vibration of the heart and blood as pumping occurs.
     Listening to the heart through a stethoscope usually allows one to hear the two heart sounds. The first sound occurs at the moment of mitral and tricuspid valve closing, the second sound at the moment of aortic and pulmonic valve closing. Some patients with disease have additional vibrations that can lead to other discrete sounds, or they may have turbulence, caused by flow through narrow arteries, that is picked up as a murmur.

2. Which of the following conditions can cause irregularities in the sound of the heart?
    -Moderate bradycardia and mild mitral valve regurgitation
Bradycardia is an abnormally slow heart beat rhthym. It's possible that the natural variation in the heart beat rate between individuals or in the same person may make it difficult to diagnose a slow heart beat as a clinical condition, but in principle, this condition is detectable based purely sound. Mitral valve regurgitation occurs because of an inability of the mitral valve to prevent the blood from flowing back from the left ventricle to the left atrium during systole. The back flow of blood (regurgitation) creates an abnormal 'whoosh' that can easily be detected. Atheroscierosis is deposition of fatty plaques in the wall of the arteries. When it occurs in the coronary arteries, that is, the blood vessels that supply the heart muscles, it can constrict the passage of blood and cause a heart attack. However, without other secondary symptoms, atheroscierosis is not easily detectable by sound alone.

3. What is a murmur?
    - A rumbling or blowing sound that is made by the heart, often by malfunctioning heart valves.
Murmors are often associated with problems involving the heart, often by malfunctioning heart valves.

1. How are the echocardiography images made?
   - Images are complied from ultrasound and reflected from the heart tissue.
Echocardiography uses ultrasound emitted from a probe. The sound is when reflected back to the probe when it encounters a solid object. The results are complied with a computer. X-rays, optical equipment or radar (using radio waves) are not used.

2. What do orange and blue colors on the blood represent in Doppier echo images?
    -The colors indicate whether the blood is moving toward or away from the probe.
Doppler echocardiography detects movement of blood. It has nothing to do with oxygenation or temperature. The colors are assign depending on whether the blood is moving toward or away from the probe.

3. Which of the following characteristics of the heart cannot be measure with echocardiography?
   -The oxygen content of the blood.
Echocardiography can provide very good real-time images of the heart. The valve movements can be monitored, the heartbeat can be measured by observing the movements, and the size of the chambers can be calculated. It does not however, monitor chemical compositions of the blood. So it cannot measure the oxygen content.

EKG Lab

In this lab my group and I measured Alexis's heart beat. A single heart beat contains five components which are P,Q, R, S, and T. P is the start of the impulse that spreads to the sinoatrial node downward from the atria to the atrioventricular node and to the ventricles. The QRS wave occurs when the ventricles contract, then the pulse travels septum then it travels up the outer walls. The T wave is the recovery (re-polarization) of the heart and you may notice that the T wave is a little big in this graph due to our equipment. The times it took the R wave to reach it's peak in our lab is listed below. After looking at them you can come to the conclusion that Alexis's electrical pulses occurred every 0.8 or estimating 75 beats per a minute.

• Run 1- 0.682 seconds
• Run 2 - 1.454 seconds
• Run 3- 2.261 seconds

Heart Diagram

Down below are two pictures of two different examples of the heart. The first one shows parts of the heart colored a different color to help tell where they separate. The second one shows the way the blood flows. The blood flows through the superior vena cava  into the right atrium, through the A-V valve into the right ventricle, out the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery, through the pulmonary arteriole, through the pulmonary capillary, through the pulmonary venues , to the left atrium, flowing through the mitral valve into the left ventricle, flowing to the aorta. Also, at the very bottom is  picture of my labeling the heart quiz, which I got 20 out of 20.

Heart Dissection

In this lab three different hearts were dissected. We had a sheep heart (littles), a pig heart (middle sized), and a cow heart (biggest). While dissecting the hearts we were able to see and locate different parts of the heart that were not seen in all three. After cutting the heart open, we measured the main parts of the hearts. Down below are a few questions that I answered after completing this lab.

1. After reviewing the artery and vein prepared slide, which blood vessel has the thicker walls? is there a possible reason for this, on the basis of blood vessel function?                                                  .. The right wall is thicker in all the hearts and I think this is because it has to be bigger due to the blood flowing in through the right atrium first. The wall has to be thicker to protect the vein (bigger vein).
2. After viewing the cardiac muscle prepared slide, is cardiac muscle smooth or striated?………         ..The cardiac muscle in the heart is striated because it contracts to squeeze blood out and relaxes to let blood flow in. The heart is a muscle that never gets tired and never rests.
3. After viewing the prepared slide of a coronary artery with atherosclerosis, what is the danger of having this artherosclerotic plaque on this particular artery?                                                ………     .. The danger is that it will block the blood flow.
4. How does the basic structure of the heart compare between the three heart specimens?                      ..Our heart is more like the pig heart because its the medium sized heart. The sheep heart is more the size of an infants heart and the cow heart is way to big to compare to a humans heart.
5. a. What are some of the major differences you observed in the heart specimens?                                 .. The smaller parts are located on the left side of the heart and the bigger are located on the right. .b.Can you think of any adaptive reasons for these differences?                                                           .. The fact that the blood flows in on the right side causes it to be bigger to take the great quantity in.

Inside the pig heart 

The picture above is of a pig heart. This heart was the middle sized heart of the three dissected. These pictures also show us measuring the heart. This was the first heart dissected and I was able to locate pretty much every part of the heart.

Measurements are listed below for length otherwise stated.

• Aorta- 4cm
• Pulmonary Trunk- 3cm
• Left Atrium-4.5cm
• Left Ventricle- 5cm
• Left Outer Wall- 1.5cm
• Right Atrium- 4cm thick
• Right Ventricle- 3.5cm thick
• Right Outer Wall- 1.5cm

Inside of the sheep heart

The pictures above are of a sheep heart. The sheep heart was the littlest of all three hearts dissected. I had a little trouble trying to locate the different parts because everything was so tiny. Down below are the measurements in length otherwise stated.

• Aorta- 2.5cm
• Pulmonary Trunk- 3cm
• Left Atrium- 2cm
• Left Ventricle- 10cm
• Left Outer Wall- 1.5cm thick
• Right Atrium- 4cm
• Right Ventricle- 9cm
• Right Outer Wall- 2.0cm thick

Inside the cow heart

The pictures above are pictures of a cow heart. When dissecting the heart I found a lot of interest, considering the fact it's the biggest one to be dissected. I found it easier to locate the different parts of the heart because it was so big. Down below are measurements in length otherwise stated.

• Aorta- 7cm
• Pulmonary Trunk- 12cm
• Left Atrium- 7.5cm
• Left Ventricle- 11.5cm
• Left Outer Wall- 6.5cm thick
• Right Atrium- 7.5cm
• Right Ventricle- 11cm
• Right Outer Wall- 7.5 cm thick

The graph below shows the difference between a cow, pig, and a sheep heart's thickness of the outer wall. The bigger the heart, the thicker the outer wall. The right side as you can see will always be bigger due to thats the side the blood comes in, which makes the right atrium bigger, causing the wall to be thicker to protect it better. The bigger the animal (heart) the more blood that is flowing in, causing the wall to once again be bigger. 

Reflex Lab

OBJECTIVES: 

• Graph the electrical activity of a muscle activated by a reflex are through nerves to and from the spinal cord.
• Compare the relative speeds of voluntary and reflex muscle activation.
• Associate muscle activity with involuntary activation.
• Observe the effect of central nervous system influence on reflex amplitude.
• Calculate the approximate speed of a nerve impulse.
• Compare reflex response and electrical amplitude in different subjects.

MATERIALS:

• Computer
• Vernier computer interface
• Logger Pro
• Vernier EKG Sensor
• Vernier 25-g Accelerometer
• Electrode tabs
• Reflex hammer
• Cable tie, 10cm long
• Cloth Tape measure
• Pen

PROCEDURE:

In this lab we were testing the reflexes of my knee by hitting the patellar tendon with a reflex hammer. When the muscle is stretched, it activates nerve impulses that travel to the spinal cord. The reflex we tested is mainly a spinal reflex but also signals sent from and to the brain. Down below are the results.

The graph above is reflex number one. This is a regular reflex where the hammer hit the knee. The results of the reflexes are listed below.

• 8.81-8.82= .01 difference
• 10.0-9.99= .01 difference
• 11.36-11.35= .01 difference
• 12.63-12.59= .04 difference

The graph above is reflex run number two. In this run we just hit the knee with the hammer and recorded the results. Listed below are the results.

• .33-.12= 0.21 difference
• 6.97-6.94= .03 difference
• 13.46-13.45= 0.01 difference

The graph above represents voluntary reflex number one. In this run Alexis was hitting the desk with the hammer every now and then and when I heard it hit, I would swing my leg. The results in time difference are listed below.

• 6.89-6.64= .25 difference
• 11.43-11.19= .24 difference
• 15.60-15.49= .11 difference

The graph above shows voluntary reflex number two. The blue represents when the reflex hammer hit the knee and the red represents the reflex of the knee. 

Down below are the differences in each run.

• .50-.30= .20 difference
• 10.22-10.13= .09 difference
• 12.10-11.87= .23 difference
• 15.19-12.18= .01 difference

The graph above is of the tension reflexes. I grabbed one hand with another and tried to pull in each direction. This caused my muscles to be more tense. The results of my reflexes when this happened are listed below.

• 8.85-8.82=.03 difference
• 10.02-10.01=.01 difference
• 11.39-11.38= .01 difference
• 14.01- 13.95= .06 difference

Nervous System Project

The link listed below will connect you to my group's schizophrenia and bipolar disorder presentation

https://docs.google.com/a/lajunta.k12.co.us/presentation/d/1-G49Y-FvygAn3-apMzMaCiyp0crg4Vo_NfLsGs9pamY/edit#slide=id.g6d94f72e5_31

Sheep Brain Dissection

The pictures and information you will see down below are pictures of a sheep brain dissected into three different sections. The three sections are horizontal, saggital, and coronal. Sagittal is when the brain is cut in half through the midsection. Coronal is when the brain is divided on the left and right side into two equal parts. Horizontal is when the brain is cut through the pylorus and the tips of the ninth costal cartilages. By cutting the brain into different sections, you can locate and see different parts of the brain. Also, down below are a couple notes to help you understand some words and parts better. 

 

The pictures above are pictures of a sheep brain cut sagittal.

The pictures above are of a sheeps brain cut horizontal. 

 

The pictures above are pictures of a sheep brain cut sagittal.

• Cerebrum:
• contains cerebral cortex
• contains the hippocampus 
• contains basil ganglia
• olfactory bulb
• Cerebellum:
• important role in motor control
• language
• attention
• regulating fear
• pleasure responses
• contributes to coordination
• Spinal cord:
• makes up the nervous system with the brain
• transmission of neural signals between the brain and the rest of the body
• controls numerous reflexes 
• controls central pattern generators
• Medulla:
• part of the brain stem
• Pons:
• contain nuclei 
• relays signal from the forebrain to the cerebellum
• sleep
• respiration
• swallowing
• bladder control
• hearing
• equilibrium
• taste
• eye movement
• facial expressions
• facial sensation
• posture
• Midbrain:
• vision
• hearing
• motor control
• sleep/wake
• arousal
• temperature regulations
• Hypothalamus:
• links the nervous system to the endocrine system 
• body temperature
• hunger
• behavior
• thirst
• fatigue
• sleep
• circadian rhythm 
• Thalamus:
• relaying of sensory
• motor signals
• regulation of consciousness
• sleep 
• alertness
• Corpus Callosum:
• connects the left and right cerebral hemoshpheres

Neurophysiology Drawings

In class we have been learning about the nervous system. Down below is a drawing of a neuron and all the parts labeled. Neurons are cells that transmit signals via action potentials. Located around neurons are supporting cells. The body of a neuron contains the nucleus and has no centrioles. The axon, which is the site for propagation of axon potentials covered in Myelin Sheath, arises in the axon hillock. At the top of the neuron, above the nucleus, are dendrites. Dendrites attract electrical signals and send them to the bottom of the axon. For a signal to be sent down to the bottom, you got to have a really big one or two that come at the exact same time. It all depends on the size and the timing. 

Located at the end of the axon is the axonal terminal, which is branched terminus of the axon. The axon is what transfers or emits the action potentials. An action potential is all or nothing electrical discharge. They produce and release neurotransmitters at the synapse. Synapse is the area of impulse transmission between axons (communication between axons). Movement can be sent towards the axonal terminal are sent away from it. The longest axon can be up to 1 M long. 

Myelin Sheath protects the axon. It is a whitish, fatty sheath that can be found along most axons. This sheath insulates fibers electrically. With this present, the speed of impulse transmission increases. There are gaps that are located in the sheath that allow for the propagation of impulses known as nodes of ranvier. Myelin sheath is formed by schwann cells and both myelinated and unmyelinated cells are present. 

                                                    

Down below is a picture of a protein membrane channel (doors). There are many different types of channels that all help out in a certain way. A potassium channel and sodium channel are two of the channels.There is voltage gated sodium channel and a voltage gated potassium channel. When the sodium channel opens and sodium rushes in, the voltage rises due to more positive charges going inside. The voltage or charge then triggers the potassium channel and the potassium, which is negative, starts flowing out causing the voltage to decrease and eventually even out. There is also a na+ and a K+ pump. Some channels only allow potassium and some only allow sodium.

                                                

Action potential is what is shown in the picture below. An action potential is a short-lasting event in which the electrical membrane potential of a cell rapidly rises and falls, following a consistent trajectory. The channeled gates open and close really fast (micro seconds) to try and even out the charge as fast as possible. The potassium gate opens at 50- because the sodium is flowing in causing the voltage to rise and the potassium helps bring it back down and eventually even it out.

                             

The picture down below represents synaptic potential. This is when the charge is different on the inside and outside of the neuron. The outside is positive and the inside is negative. These channels are polarized due to more negatives located on the inside. When sodium rushes in (voltage rises), positives start to fill the inside causing depolarization to happen. When potassium starts to rush out (voltage drops), depolarization happens. Eventually the charge evens out again.

Resting potential is when there is the same amount of positives on the outside as there are negatives in the inside. You can stab the membrane with a pipet to measure the voltage. Sodium enters with calcium. 

Introduction to EMG (a.k.a. chewing lab)

This lab involves different varietys of food. My group was given different foods to chew. Electrodes were placed on Alexis's face along with wires to monitor her chewing of each food. The minimum and maximum transmitted through the wires was recorded. Down below is the information gathered during this lab. The food that we found was the hardest to chew was the gummy worm and required larger bites. The food that was the easiest to chew was a nilla wafer. When it was being chewed, it showed little muscle activity or electrical energy. The numbers you will see below show the minimum and maximum voltage transmitted through her masseter.

• Control- min: 0.9753mV max:1.131mV
• Apple- min: 0.2962mV max: 2.281mV
• Gummy Worm- min: 0.02083mV max: 4.006mV
• Marshmellow- min: 0.0208mV max: 3.053mV
• Nilla Wafers- min: 0.4115mV max: 1.924mV
• Oreo- min: 0.1567mV max: 2.484mV

The graph below was made from sutracting the minimum from the maximum.

Part 2- Muscle Anatomy and Physilogy Model Building

Down below is a link to my group's powerpoint that explains sliding filament theory and a poster we drew. This is a continuous project on muscles and part 1 was posted right before this. Enjoy!

Part 1 - Muscle Anatomy and Physiology Model Building

Down below are a couple notes over important words that have to do with muscle movement. Also below those notes is my explanation over muscle movement and my example.

Key Terms:

• Tendon- a flexible but inelastic cord of strong fibrous tissue attaching a muscle to a bone
• Fascia- connective tissue fibers, primarily collagen, that form sheets or bands beneath the skin to attach, stabilize, enclose, and separate muscles and other internal organs
• Epimysium- a layer of connective tissue, which ensheaths the entire muscle
• Perimysium- a sheath of connective tissue that groups muscle fibers into bundles or fascicles
• Fascicles- a bundle or a cluster
• Endomysium- a wispy layer of areolar connective tissue that ensheaths each individual muscle fiber, or muscle cell
• Muscle fibers- a long, multi-nucleated muscle cells, or myofibers, that make up skeletal muscle
• Myofibrils- a basic rod-like unit of a muscle
• Protein filaments- long chain of proteins
• Plasmalemma- a plasma membrane that bounds a cell, especially one immediately within the wall of a plant cell
• Mitochondria- a membrane bound organelle found in most eukarytoic cells
• Nucleus- the central and most important part of an object, movement, or grou, forming the basis for its activity and growth
• Sacroplasm- of a muscle fiber is comparable to the cytoplasm of other cells but it unusually contains large amounts of glycosomes.

Physiology

Skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle all work together to create contractions. Contraction is stimulated by electrical impulses transmitted by the nerves. All skeletal muscle and many smooth muscle contractions are faciliated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. 

Function

The way a muscle functions is determined by its location. The cross-sectional area of a muscle determines the amount of force it can generate by defining the number sacromeres which can operate in parallel. When a sacomere contracts, the Z lines move close together, and the I band becomes smaller and the A band stays the same width. At full contraction, the thin and thick layers overlap.

My Project