Phys3111, Biophysics, Conduction Velocity

Backyard Brain Box

Safety considerations
Sharp pins will be used as electrodes. Hold these with the ball side and ensure you do not handle
the sharp end.
Ensure the cables are kept untangled to the electrodes.
Kept bags under desk.

Aim
Calculation of the conduction velocity of neurons in a worm.

Your submission

Your work for week 10 is due on Monday 9th May by 11:59pm, via Blackboard.

Please include as one pdf and in order:

A. A short introduction (one paragraph) on what you did and why. [4 marks]
B. Results. Some representative images of what you measured; a description on how you
extracted the data you needed; and a table of that data. [8 marks]
C. Analysis. Complete workings for how you went from the data to a result for the
conduction velocity and include uncertainties. [8 marks]
D. A short discussion (one paragraph) stating your main result, whether it is realistic, and
discussing the sources of uncertainty. [6 marks]

In addition, [4 marks] are awarded for Lab Participation, including how effectively you
worked with your lab partner, punctuality, engagement, calibration and taking data.

Make sure that your lab report is readable and fully self-contained. In other words, it should
make sense without needing any external resources (eg. Formulas, notes, data, websites).

Total: 20 marks

Instructions:

During today's laboratory, you will have the opportunity to choose 2 experiments from the
Backyard Brains box sets. There are a number of different experiments including:

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• Human-Human Interface

Have you ever dreamt of controlling the people around you? Family, friends, co-workers, even
total strangers? Well now that power is yours thanks to the cutting edge of neuroscience and
biotechnology, the Backyard Brains Human-Human Interface. With our electrophysiology setup,
you will learn exciting neuroscience concepts first-hand as your brain sends an electrical impulse
to your arm's muscles, telling them to move, and when your muscles move, this generates an
even larger electrical signal. You'll take that electricity, then further amplify it and inject it into
the nerves controlling another person's arm.

• Muscle Spikerbox

You may have heard and seen spikes from invertebrates. But what about yourself? Your body
uses electricity to communicate and control parts of the body. Though all cells have ionic
gradients across their membranes, the most well known organ systems that use electricity are the
brain, the muscles, and the heart.

•
o Getting started with electromyograms (EMGs)
o Muscle action potentials
o Muscle contractions and Fatigue
• Heart and Brain Spiker Box

With our Heart and Brain SpikerBox, you can view and record the action potentials of your heart
(EKG) and the slow rhythms of your brain (EEG) using a Smartphone, Tablet, Chromebook, or
Computer running our free Spike Recorder Software.

The EKG is the bodies’ most recognizable electrical signal, making cameos in medical TV
shows for decades. Our experiments take you through the steps of how to record your own, and
what these signals say about you. Tap into the cerebral cortex using our EEG headband to record
both brain “rhythms” as well as evoked potentials. Wait, there’s more! You can also use this
SpikerBox to record electrical deflections of the eye.

•
o Heart action potentials
o EEG-Record from the human brain
o The consciousness detector
o Eye potentials

• The Claw

Jealous of the cyborgs you see in the movies? Wish your brain could send signals to robotics
devices? Your days of yearning are over. Now you can control a Robotic Claw with your own
Brain Machine Interface! Experience the future of robotics with Backyard Brain's "The Claw,"
your very own DIY neuroprosthetic. The Claw is a motorized gripper that makes it possible for
YOU to be the innovator of human interfaces! Paired with a pre-loaded Arduino microcontroller,

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 Phys3111, Biophysics, Conduction Velocity

the Claw responds to the EMG signals of your muscles: Make a grip with your fist, and the
Claw's appendages close. Relax, and the Claw relaxes!

Click on the links above and have a look at the experiments and the instructions - check the time
for each experiment to ensure you will be able to do within the 3 hours. This is good practice as
sometimes you instructed to follow instructions from elsewhere, such as a manuscript,
someone’s thesis etc. A written report is to be done and submitted here.

End of lab.

See front page for the submission requirements.

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