Altered reality lab
Lab safety goggles fitted with press-on prisms. Make a note of the orientation of the right angles - is hypotenuse on left or right? Check that coverings over each eye is oriented the same way.
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The capacity to learn is one of the most profound aspects of the human nervous system. Despite our knowledge of the anatomy and related circuitry or hard-wiring of the central nervous system (CNS), many neuroscientists continue to search for the underlying basis of the brain’s ability to adapt rapidly to new experiences. This adaptability, both conscious and unconscious, is often termed neuronal plasticity and is considered to be memory in
the short-term and learning if remembered over the long-term.
Numerous regions of the brain are involved in this visuomotor activity that incorporate the necessary sensory information and control the motor output. As one throws the beanbags and identifies the target, reflected light from the target enters the eye. The retina transduces this light into an appropriate signal for the nervous system that is carried to multiple components of the visual system. A visual perception of the target occurs. To move the muscles of the arm to toss a beanbag at the target, the visual system signals the motor system through cortical outflow directed toward the spinal cord. Here appropriate motor neurons are activated to excite muscle fibers. Generally, a thrower has the appropriate neural circuitry and hits the target on the first trial.
Of tremendous importance is the brain’s response to the shift of the original visual signal due to the prism lenses that bend light and displace the original visual input to a different location on the retina. The arm subsequently throws a beanbag to the original or wired location. Then the visual system receives a new signal and a perception indicating that the target has not been hit. With subsequent trials with the prism goggles, the brain adapts and reconfigures this information. The new portion of the retina is rewired to a new area in the cerebral cortex so that correct muscle groups are activated to hit the target.
The plasticity of the new response occurs rapidly and is remembered, as shown by the response when the prism goggles are removed. The previously learned correction factor is maintained in the first few tries until the brain quickly corrects the action and returns to its original state.
While adaptation/plasticity is demonstrated easily in the visuomotor activity, similar processes occur throughout the CNS and are especially prevalent at the level of the cerebral cortex. Each sensory system, in all likelihood, has an ability to adapt the sensory information that it receives to changing events. More significantly, the extent of these mechanisms in the human brain underlies our vast neural capabilities in memory and learning that distinguish us from other species.
ASSIGNMENT - LAB REPORT GUIDELINES - COMPLETE - DESIGN, DATA, CONCLUSION/EVALUATION
DUE 3/9 MONDAY (to be confirmed)
____________________________________________
Numerous regions of the brain are involved in this visuomotor activity that incorporate the necessary sensory information and control the motor output. As one throws the beanbags and identifies the target, reflected light from the target enters the eye. The retina transduces this light into an appropriate signal for the nervous system that is carried to multiple components of the visual system. A visual perception of the target occurs. To move the muscles of the arm to toss a beanbag at the target, the visual system signals the motor system through cortical outflow directed toward the spinal cord. Here appropriate motor neurons are activated to excite muscle fibers. Generally, a thrower has the appropriate neural circuitry and hits the target on the first trial.
Of tremendous importance is the brain’s response to the shift of the original visual signal due to the prism lenses that bend light and displace the original visual input to a different location on the retina. The arm subsequently throws a beanbag to the original or wired location. Then the visual system receives a new signal and a perception indicating that the target has not been hit. With subsequent trials with the prism goggles, the brain adapts and reconfigures this information. The new portion of the retina is rewired to a new area in the cerebral cortex so that correct muscle groups are activated to hit the target.
The plasticity of the new response occurs rapidly and is remembered, as shown by the response when the prism goggles are removed. The previously learned correction factor is maintained in the first few tries until the brain quickly corrects the action and returns to its original state.
While adaptation/plasticity is demonstrated easily in the visuomotor activity, similar processes occur throughout the CNS and are especially prevalent at the level of the cerebral cortex. Each sensory system, in all likelihood, has an ability to adapt the sensory information that it receives to changing events. More significantly, the extent of these mechanisms in the human brain underlies our vast neural capabilities in memory and learning that distinguish us from other species.
ASSIGNMENT - LAB REPORT GUIDELINES - COMPLETE - DESIGN, DATA, CONCLUSION/EVALUATION
- SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE BACKGROUND - USE THE ABOVE SYNOPSIS TO IDENTIFY CONCEPTS TO RESEARCH FURTHER - DEFINE NEW TERMS, DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RELATED TERMS, ETC.
- CONNECT BETWEEN THE LARGE SCALE , OBSERVABLE,/MEASURABLE BEHAVIOR AND THE SMALL SCALE MECHANISTIC EXPLANATIONS BEHIND THE BEHAVIOR (DIAGRAMS AND DATA!)
- USE DIAGRAMS AND TEXT TOGETHER TO FULLY EXPLAIN BOTH YOUR PROCEDURE AND YOUR CONCLUSIONS
- USE INTERNAL CITATIONS FOR ANY INFORMATION REFERENCED - DIRECT QUOTES AND PARAPHRASES - USE ORIGINAL CITATIONS (i.e, NOT biology4friends.org)
- COMPARE YOUR RESULTS TO THOSE OF OTHERS AND TO EXPECTED RESULTS
- REVISIT YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION AND LAB DESIGN IN SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
- STATS - UNCERTAINTY OF MEASUREMENTS, MEANS/STD DEV OF DATA, T TESTS OF MEANS, REGRESSION COEFF...
DUE 3/9 MONDAY (to be confirmed)
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