THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSE ORGANS

MATERIALS
Ruler
Watch
Rubber hammer (or something comparable
Tape measure
A friend, coworker, sibling, older child, spouse, parent -- any one person who can act as a lab
partner to help you take measurements.
Access to a printer to print off the hand template page found later in the lab.
Camera: take a picture of all of your materials together

INTRODUCTION
The human nervous system is an elaborate communication system that contains more than 100
billion nerve cells in the brain alone. All animals display some type of response to their
environment, but the development of the nervous system seems to reach its pinnacle in humans.
Indeed, what separates us from other animals is often described in terms of the nervous system.
Memory, learning, and language are all functions of our nervous system.
The nervous system can be divided into two main divisions: the central nervous system and the
peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system, or CNS, contains the nerves of the brain
and spinal cord. The central nervous system acts as a coordinating center for incoming and
outgoing information. The peripheral nervous system, or PNS, carries information between the
organs of the body and the central nervous system.
Two different types of cells; glial cells and neurons, are found in the nervous system. Glial cells,
often called neuroglial cells, are non-conducting cells and are important for the structural support
and metabolism of the nerve cells. Neurons are the functional cells of the nervous system.
These specialized nerve cells can be categorized into three groups: sensory neurons,
interneurons, and motor neurons. Sensory neurons relay information about the environment to
the central nervous system for processing. For example, special sensory receptors in your eyes
respond to light. Interneurons, as the name suggests, link neurons within the body. Found
predominantly throughout the brain and spinal cord, the interneurons integrate and interpret the
sensory information and connect neurons to outgoing motor neurons. Motor neurons relay
information to the effectors. Muscles and glands are classified as effectors because they cause
things to happen.
All neurons contain cell bodies, axons, and dendrites. The dendrites receive the information,
either from specialized receptors, as in the case of sensory neurons, or from other nerve cells, as
in the case of motor neurons. Dendrites conduct nerve impulses toward the cell body. Like all
living cells, nerve cells contain a cell body with a nucleus. An extension of cytoplasm, called the
axon, projects from the cell body. In some cases it extends to nearly one meter in length. In
humans the axon is extremely thin. More than 100 axons could be placed inside the shaft of a
single human hair. The axon carries the nerve impulse toward other neurons or to effectors. The
information is transmitted at high speed; up to 8 meters per second in humans. A neuron will
only conduct a nerve impulse if something makes it: this something is called the stimulus.
Nerves, on close examination, are composed of many neurons bundled together.
Answer questions 1 to 4 in the Moodle lab report.
In all vertebrates, including the mammals, the brain develops as an enlargement of the spinal
cord. The brain contains the major integrating centers of the nervous system, and is closely
associated with the major sense organs of the head. The brain is housed in the cranial cavity and
for protection is surrounded by the bones of the skull. Further protection is provided by the
meninges. These tough membranes cover the brain and spinal cord, and are filled with
cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid provides a cushion to absorb any shocks that the brain may
receive.
The basic pattern of brain organization is into fore, mid and hind brains; but in human this
pattern has been obscured by the tremendous development of special areas, in particular the
cerebral hemispheres. The complexity of the functions of a brain depends on the number and
complexity of the interconnections between the brains interneurones. The vast majority of these
interconnections are located in the outer cortex of gray matter of the brain. In humans the
amount of gray matter brain tissue has been vastly increased by the folding of the cerebellum and
cerebral hemispheres. This increases in the surface area of the gray matter leads to an increases
in the complexity of the neuronal structure of the human brain.
The human brain can be divided into the following major areas:
CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
The cerebral hemispheres are the center of consciousness, intelligence, memory and higher
mental processes. Although each hemisphere is virtually an independent entity, in humans one
hemisphere (usually the left) is dominant. Integration between the hemispheres is achieved by a
large tract of inter-connecting nerve fibers the corpus callosum.

HYPOTHALAMUS
The hypothalamus is the major center for the control of homeostatic reflex mechanisms. This is
achieved by its connections with the autonomic nervous system, and the pituitary gland. The
hypothalamus produces neurosecretions which pass to the pituitary gland, and are then
subsequently released as hormones into the blood stream.
CEREBELLUM
The cerebellum is the center of the coordination of voluntary muscle activity. The stimuli to
such activity comes from the cerebral hemispheres and are transmitted to the cerebellum along
special direct connections.
MEDULLA OBLONGATA
The medulla oblongata leads into the spinal cord, and forms part of what is referred to as the
“brain stem”. It contains the control centers of many major reflexes.
SPINAL CORD
This is not part of the brain but has a major role as part of the Central Nervous System. The
spinal cord continues from the medulla oblongata down the neural canal of the vertebral column.
It consists of nerve cells and fibers in the form of a hollow tube, with a fine central canal lined
with ciliated epithelium which circulates the cerebrospinal fluid. Arising from the cord are pairs
of spinal nerves. The spinal cord relays impulses to and from the body and the brain, and is the
site of a large number of reflexes.

Use the internet and your textbook to answer questions 5 to 7 in your Moodle lab report.

PROCEDURE
A. Case Study
In 1948, a thunderous explosion vibrated throughout a Vermont mine. A quarry worker, Phineas
Gage, lay on the ground impaled by a tamping iron. Apparently Gage had set off blasting caps
by tamping (hitting!) them with a large iron bar. That iron bar had entered his skull immediately
above the left eye and exited through the top of the skull. Incredible as it may seem, Phineas
Gage recovered from the explosion and lived for another 12 years. He showed no signs of
physical impairment. His vision, hearing, balance, and speech remained intact. However, he did
experience one change: the once quiet and thoughtful Phineas became irresponsible and short-
tempered. Spontaneous temper tantrums would send him into a fit of profanity. What could
have triggered such changes?
Answer questions 8 and 9 in your Moodle lab report.

Use your text book and your personal knowledge to answer questions 10 and 11 in your Moodle
lab report

C. The Reflex Arc

The neuron is the functional cell of the nervous system, but the functional unit, on which the
greater part of the activity of the nervous system is based, is the reflex arc. Reflex arcs contain
five essential components: the receptor, the sensory neuron, the interneuron in the spinal cord or
brain, the motor neuron, and the effector. Your text will have a diagram showing a reflex arc.

There is a hierarchy of reflex actions from the simplest, based on the spinal cord, to those of the
higher centers of the cerebral cortex. All neurons within the system are interlinked and this
enables conditioned reflexes to develop. These conditioned reflexes join together to form higher
behavioral patterns.

Many human activities depend on reflexes. Most of these involve the brain, but some of them
use only the spinal cord and will be given even when the brain is completely inactivated. If an
animal’s brain is destroyed while the spinal cord is left intact, its behavior and reflexes can be
examined in order to determine how much of the animal’s activity is independent of the brain
and controlled only by the spinal cord. Any reflexes observed are called spinal reflexes.

Knee Jerk
This is one of the simplest reflexes known in humans. A sensory neuron connects with a motor
neuron in the lumbar region of the spinal cord. There is no intermediate interneuron.

1. Your partner should sit on the table with their legs dangling over the edge at the knees.
2 Tap just below the knee cap (the knee tendon) with the rubber hammer.
3. Record the result on a sheet of paper - you will put this into Moodle lab report later.
4. Repeat the experiment but this time the subject should deliberately try not to give the
response (tighten your leg muscles so the leg cannot move). What effects, if any, does this have
on the reflex? Think about the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction to explain your
observations.
5. Repeat once again with the subject reading a book aloud while being tested. You may
find that this gives a larger jerk. How would you explain this?
Answer question 12 in your Moodle lab report.

D. Reaction Times In Humans

An organism’s reaction time is the period which elapses between the application of a stimulus
and the performance of the response. Measuring reaction times can give us a useful insight into
the speed at which our nervous system works.

Reaction Time To Sight

1. Print out the hand template from the next page. Your partner should place his hands on the
template provided on the next page.
2. With the stopwatch at the located position start the stopwatch and let it run.
3. When the watch gets to exactly 10 seconds your partner must press the stop button.
4. Record the time that it took your partner to stop the watch. To do this you will take the time
on the watch and subtract 10 (i.e. the watch says 14.3 seconds, so 14.3 - 10 = 4.3 seconds).
Remember to subtract the initial 10 seconds!
5. Repeat a further 3 times and calculate the average reaction time.
6. Take a picture of your partner doing this.
Answer questions 13 and 14 in your Moodle lab report.

Reaction Time To Touch

1. Your partner should place her hands on the template provided.
2. The subject should close his or her eyes.
3. Start the stopwatch and let it run.
4. When the watch gets to exactly 10 seconds step lightly on your partner’s foot.
5. At this signal your partner must press the stop button. (They may open their eyes once they
get the go signal)
4. Record the time taken using the same protocol as before. Remember to subtract the initial 10
seconds!
5. Repeat a further 3 times and calculate the average reaction time.
Is the subject’s reaction time longer in the second experiment than in the first? If so, why?
Answer question 15 in your Moodle lab report.

Analysis Of Results
1. With a tape measure, as accurately as you can, measure the length of the sensory nerve
pathways IN CENTIMETERS. This is the distance the nerve travels between the point where
the stimulus is received to the back of the brain. Thus you will have two measurements: one
from the eye to the brain, and one from the foot to the brain.
Note: the tape measure should run in a straight line from the ankle to the shoulder, then shoulder
to back of the neck, then back of the neck to back of the head (brain). You will add those
distances together to get the sensory nerve pathway from foot to brain. For the pathway from eye
to the brain, you will simply run the tape from the corner of your eye straight back (above your
ear) to the back of the head.
2. Now measure the length of the motor nerve pathway IN CENTIMETERS. This is the
distance the nerve travels between the brain and the effector, the part of the body which responds
(the finger). Measure from the back of the brain, down the spinal cord, and along the arm to the
muscles that contracted to cause you to turn off the stopwatch. You will have only one value as
the same motor pathway was used during both experiments.
Note: the tape measure should run in a straight line from the back of your head to the back of the
neck, over to your shoulder, and then down to your wrist. You will add those distances together
to get the motor nerve pathway from brain to effector muscles. Use that number twice in the
chart.
Answer questions 16 to 18 in your Moodle lab report.

3. From your measurements calculate the speed in meters per second at which impulses appear
to be transmitted in the nervous system.
Hint: Speed = Distance (in meters)
Time (in seconds)

Remember that 100cm = 1meter

Answer questions 19 and 20 in your Moodle lab report.
E. The Eye
Light enters the eye through a tough transparent layer called the cornea. This protects the eye
and it helps to focus the light onto the retina, the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the
inside of the eye. The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the iris, which adjusts the
size of the pupil - the circular opening in its center. The lens focuses the light to give a sharp
image on the retina. Although the image on the retina is inverted, the brain interprets it so you
see it the right way up.

The greatest focusing of light occurs at the air-cornea surface, but the fine focusing is controlled
by changes in the shape of the elastic biconvex lens. If you look up from this page and gaze out
of the window, your eye lens becomes thinner to keep your vision in focus. This is called
accommodation. Your eye muscles alter the thickness of your eye lens. The muscles fibers run
round the eye lens, so when they contract they shorten and squeeze the eye lens, making it
thicker. In this way light is focused to form an image of the observed object on the retina.

The eye at rest is focused on distant objects. The circular ciliary muscles are relaxed, the
suspensory ligaments are taut and pull the lens thinner and flatter, and the image is focused on
the retina. When focusing on near objects the ciliary muscles contract and release the tension on
the suspensory ligaments, the elastic lens becomes thicker, and the change in curvature of the
lens brings the image of the near object to a focus on the retina. Also, when focusing on near
objects, the eyes converge and the pupils constrict.

There are two types of cells on the retina: rods and cones. Rods occur mostly near the edges of
the retina. They are not sensitive to color and only respond to the brightness of light. Cones are
packed densely together at the middle of the retina. This area is called the fovea. Each cone is
sensitive to red or blue or green light. For example, when red light falls on the retina, it
“activates” the red-sensitive cones, so you see red. Other colors activate more than one type of
cone. For example, yellow light activates the red and the green cones, so they send messages to
the brain. When the brain receives signals from adjacent red and green cones, it knows yellow
light is on that part of the retina.

Once the light reaches the retina light sensitive visual pigments within the rod or cone cells
undergo photochemical bleaching. The result of this is that nerve impulses are initiated in the
optic nerves which travel to the visual cortex of the cerebral hemispheres where the image is
perceived.

Images of the Eye

Identify all the structure of a human eye using images of the eye in your text book.
Answer questions 21 to 22 in your Moodle lab report.

Demonstrating The Blind Spot

The blind spot marks the retinal-optic nerve junction and is evidenced by the following test.

+ o
1. Close the left eye and stare at the plus sign above while holding the paper at arm’s length.
2. Move the paper slowly toward your face.
3. At first both the plus sign and the circle will be seen. The circle will disappear as it comes
into focus on the blind spot of the retina. Stop when the circle disappears.
4. Your partner should measure the distance from your eye to the paper.
5. Repeat for the right eye but this time stare at the circle and watch for the + to disappear.
Usually the distance are about the same for both eyes. Some people have multiple blind spots
due to genetics or disease/injury.

G. The Ear
The ear is a complex sense organ responsible for hearing and balance. It essentially consists of a
series of tubes and canals through which sound waves are transmitted to mechanoreceptors in the
head. The human ear is subdivided into the following three sections: the air-filled outer ear, air
filled middle ear, and the fluid-filled inner ear.

Hearing involves the detection and interpretation of different frequencies of vibration in the air
known as sound waves. The sound waves cause the tympanic membrane (ear drum) to vibrate,
this in turn sets up a sequence of vibrations through the small bones of the middle ear, the
malleus, incus and stapes, to the oval window membrane. The oval window transmits the
vibrations into the cochlea. The vibrations travel through the fluid in the cochlea, the
endolymph, to the basilar membrane and organ of Corti. The basilar membrane vibrates, and the
hair cells of the organ of Corti, which are attached to the basilar membrane at one end and to the
stiff tectorial membrane at the other, are stimulated mechanically and transduce this information
into nerve impulses. The impulses from each ear are transmitted via the auditory nerve and
auditory pathways in the brain, equally to the two cerebral hemispheres.

Images of the Ear

1. Examine the outer ear in detail. Notice the flap-like pinna (function?), and the ear canal
leading to the tympanum (ear drum).
2. Examine the middle ear in detail. It contains three ear bones (ossicles):the malleus, incus, and
stapes which are held in position by delicate muscles. View the oval and round windows.
Note the Eustation (auditory) tube leading to the pharynx.
3. Examine the inner ear in detail. It contains the labyrinth which consists of the vestibular
apparatus, semicircular canals (balance), and cochlea (hearing). The whole of the labyrinth is
filled with fluid (endolymph) and surrounded by fluid (perilymph).
Note the Auditory nerve on its way to the brain.
Answer question 23 in your Moodle lab report.
Questions

Use this section to record your responses prior to completing the lab report.

1. Differentiate between the PNS and CNS.

2. What are neurons?
3. Differentiate between sensory and motor nerves.
4. Define the term stimulus as used in Biology.
5. What parts of the brain make up the hind brain?
6. What is the basic function of the hind brain (brain stem)?
7. Which part of the brain is the largest part and what is its function?
8. Which lobe of Gage’s brain would have been damaged by the iron bar? Provide a hypothesis
to explain why Phineas Gage’s personality changed.
9. Describe the function of the following:
a) Dendrites -
b) Myelin sheath -
c) Schwann cells -
d) Axon -
e) Cell body -

10. How do myelinated nerves conduct nerve impulses faster than unmyelinated nerves?
11. Name the essential components of a reflex arc, and state the function of each of the
components.
12. What is the effect of tapping the knee tendon?

13. Time to stop the watch (visual reaction time):

1) _________sec. 2) __________sec. 3) __________sec. 4) __________sec.

Average visual reaction time __________sec.

14. Looking at your times values in Q13 did practice change your reaction time? If so why?

15. Time to stop the watch (touch reaction time):

1) _________sec. 2) __________sec. 3) __________sec. 4) __________sec.

Average touch reaction time __________sec.

16. Record your measurements.

Visual reaction Touch Reaction
Length of sensory nerve pathway. cm cm
Length of motor nerve pathway. cm cm
Total length traveled cm cm
17. Was your touch reaction time faster or slower than your visual time?

18. Give reasons for your answer above.

19. Calculate the speed of your nerve impulse in meters per second:
Show your working.
a) Visual reaction
b) Touch reaction.
c) Average speed.

20. List any experimental factors that may have led to poor results from the reaction speed
experiment.

21. Describe the functions of the following:

Conjunctiva membrane -
Cornea -
Pupil -
Eye lens -
Ciliary muscles -
Retina -
Fovea -
Choroid -
Optic nerve -

22. Explain the reason for each of the following:

a) If you are trying to see a faint star in the night sky, it is better to look slightly to one side of it
rather than straight at it. (think of the cells you are using)

b) Why is it easier to study an object in detail if you look straight at it? (think of the cells)

c) Why does the eye pupil dilate (i.e. widen) in dim light?

23. Define the functions of the parts of the ear:

Pinna -
Earwax –
Middle ear -
Malleus, incus, and stapes –
Auditory/Eustachian tube –
Semicircular canals –
Oval window –
Round window -