In this lab we tested our different reflexes and how fast they are and how they function when fatigued. We recorded our data and than we put it in a class average. Our reflexes help us respond instantaneously and super fast.

Our photopupillary reflex is when the pupil adjust to light. Humans adapted to this so when it is dark out we do not just go blind, we can actually see. Our eyes adapt which is good for survival and is a good key to living. Some may say that it is survival of the fittest, who ever can adapt will be successful.

The knee jerk reflex of the Patellar reflex is when we get a tap on the knee at the doctors. I used to love this one as a kid but i never knew what it was. When the hammer hits your knee in the right spot it should shoot up. It is called the monosynaptic reflex because of the one synapse in the curcuit that helps kick out the leg. When I did 30 squats the muscles were fatigued which caused the reaction to die down because of a lack of ATP flowing through my body. The humans blink reflex is shown when something is a possible threat to the eye. Before doing it I thought that it wud be easy not to blink, but when it was happening it was a natural reflex to blink to protect my eyes. I would say the only time I dont blink when something is thrown at my face is if it is a football. We have this reflex to protect our eyes from intruders that could harm us. We than tested our plantar reflex. The reaction to this test was that the foot would move inward and tense up. Someone with multiple scerosis would most likley show babinski's sign because the nerves would be damaged and not functioning properly. WE than tested how fast we really are by dropping a ruler and testing where we caught it. I have been awake for a while and worked out this morning so my reaction time was pretty fast. Others who may have just woke up had slower time. This showed that the signal that told my brain from my hand to grab the ruler was faster than other peoples. When I did this while I was texting my reaction time slowed down because my brain had to take its time off of texting and onto the next task that was grabbing the ruler. 

The brain

Cerebral Cortex

1)What do the frontal lobes do?

Controls your personality, as well as helps individuals with problem solving, memory, language, judgment and impulse control.

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

They are the ability to pick up on and focus on the most important facts or details.

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

The last part to develop is the frontal lobe and to prevent it from deteriorating is by keeping it active.

4)What does the neocortex do?

Helps guide through your body. Controls your senses,spatial awareness and motor skills.

5)What is the role of the prefrontal cortex?

This controls your personality and how you act in social situations.

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

Multitasking is not really a thing it is just the prefrontal cortex helps the brain jump between tasks quickly

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

The broca's area is responsible for speech and language development. It is associated with language.

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

Somatosensory cortex

9)What does your visual cortex do for you?

Distinguish colors and more complex images such as faces.

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

It is your  brain’s visual processing center. It is the part that deals with imagination. Damage can result in blindness or a loss of image.

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

Impaired memory, and speaking impairment.

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

It is the region that picks up information in a matter of milliseconds and it controls the eye movement.

Neuron

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

Exercise , a healthy diet and taking omega acids may affect synapses.

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

They are different between memorizing something and learning it.

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

The big picture is said to be needed to fully comprehended a subject which uses dendrites.

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

Limbic System

17)What does the corpus callosum do?

Allows communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. It transmits neural messages between the left and right of the brain.

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

Musicians corpus callosum is generally bigger than nonmusicians. It is clear in the anterior and posterior parts of the corpus callosum. Music increases the plasticity at certain ages of development which is why it is so good for a young child to learn and play music. Bigger corpus callosum means an  increase in coordination  and differences in white matter structure.

19)Why is the thalamus important?

It is responsible for motor control and regulates your consciousness.

Relate and Review

The website we looked at had a 3d picture of the brain and its neurons where we could click on and find the pysiology of different parts. There were many new things that I learned about the brain that was very interesting.This webssite was extremely helpful and very interesting. I even did a little extra looking at it because i was so intrigues. It was a good tool and I may go back to it to study if I need some extra studying about the brain and its functions.

Brain dissection lab

  this is the cross section of the cerebrum








              

This is the picture and labeling of the sagital cut of the brain.

Cerebrum is yellow, brain stem is red, cerebellum is green.







In this lab we labeled and made incisions on the sheep brain. There was only two cuts we had to make. one was a sagittal cut and than a cross section cut on the cerebrum. we labeled many parts of the brain starting with discovering the anterior and posterior side of it. After that we got the cerebrum and the cerebellum which is the bottom part that is shaped like a bell. The brain stem was really fragile. Once we made the sagital cut labeling got a little more difficult, we labeled the thalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, pons, mid brain, corpus callosum and hypothalamus. Than we had to make a cross section on the cerebrum to make the white and gray matter more distinct.

Brain stem	The Brain stem connects neurons to the brain and is assosiated with many involuntary movements in the brain.
Cerebellum	coordinates voluntary movements and receieves sensory info from the sensory receptors.
Cerebrum	This is related to the thughts and the action of the body, the voluntary movements.

Thalamus	Relay sensory and motar signals, regulate consisness alertness and sleep.
Optic nerve	transmits information from the retina of the eye to the brain
Medulla oblongata	Controls body functions, coordination of body movements.
pons	Relay info from the cerebrum to the cerebellum
midbrain	midbrain
Corpus callosum	Helps share information
hypothalamus	Maintain homeostasis

The function of the myelin is to wrap around axons and helps the impulse flow through.

Eye dissection

The Cornea refracts light. The sclera provides structure and protection of the eye. The optic nerve transmits the signals generated from the eye to the brain.The pupil helps regulate the amount of light passing through to the retina, which is at the back of the eye. Light is transmitted through the vitreous humor. The fatty tissue around the eye supports the eye.External eye muscle allows the eye to move around easier. The choroid absorbs light and prevents internal reflection. The lens refracts the light you see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBeg1rgzgqA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chu1YAbMWCE

The Clay Brain

We used clay to make a diagram of the brain. We involved many different parts of the brain . We split the brain into the right hemisphere and the left sagittal side of the brain. We had to use a key to explain the different parts. 

Hole in the head

         A woman was born without a cerebellum, She couldn't walk straight her whole life and couldn't talk until she was 7. They did not find out that the cerebellum was missing until she was 24. The space where the cerebellum should be was empty. The cerebellum is very important because it works the motor control and balance. Problems in the cerebellum can lead to severe mental impairment, movement disorders, epilepsy or a potentially fatal build up of fluid in the brain. Only 9 people have ever lived without a cerebellum.


Corpus Collosum

It connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres. It is the largest white matter structure in the brain. People who are missing it can have either mild or very severe futures. Te condition is called agenesis. The surgical operation called corpus callosotomy is used as a last resort to treat epilepsy. This causes the split brain syndrome. The left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body. It is also important to realize that the left side of the brain is dominant in understanding language. The right side is more dominant in creativity, Without the corpus collosum there would be no split brain. 

Teenagers Take risk's

Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch
Risky Business: Why they do the things they do

This chapter interviewed teenage kids and ask them why they do the stupid things that they do. Many of their answers were just "because it is fun" or "because I wanted to try something new". It says that the risky behavior is normal and even necessary for teens. Parents all think that risk are all one bad thing but they are wrong. Many child Psychologist say that teens need to do some risky business because they need to find out who they are and where they fit in. The level of risk taking is different for every kid and parents need to realize that. This passage also talks about how dopamine works in the brain. It works in the pleasure circuit, when it gets activated we get a good feeling in us. Too much dopamine is possible as well. when Dopamine is over done people get something called a massive bomb attack. Volkow says, "I believe that novelty, risk taking, activates dopamine in humans, no question. That's also the system nature has of telling the organism to pay attention to the new thing, figure out if it is positive or negative. And teenagers, after all, have many more new things to figure out."  Risk taking is not a bad or good thing, it is part of a teenagers life growing up and maturing and can help develop who they become as a person.

Is there a scientific explanation for why , if kids get in trouble for their first risk, why do they keep doing it?

Is it possible to be born with naturally higher levels of dopamine or lower levels of dopamine?