Reflexes Lab Analysis

      In this lab we tested our reflexes! First, we tested the photopupillary reflex. The smooth muscles in our eyes control the size of our pupils. If an intense light is shined into the eye, the pupil's size decreases keeping all the light from entering and damaging the eye. This reflex protects the photoreceptors in our eyes.

      Next, we tested the knee jerk reflex. At first, we didn't get any results. But after multiple tries and help from other people, my leg moved involuntarily. It was a very weird feeling. My patella tendon had flexed. I learned that this reflex is what helps us keep balance while walking and running. After doing a few squats, we tested the reflex again. This time my leg didn't move. This is probably because my thigh muscles were fatigued from the squats. There was not enough ATP in my leg for the muscle to contract.

      We also tested our blink reflexes. Even with a shield to cover our eyes from the cotton ball, both of us blinked when we saw it coming towards us. This reflex protects objects from flying into our eyes and damaging them. Then, we tested the plantar reflex. When dragging a pen up the foot, the toes flex and move close together. People with Multiple Sclerosis are more likely to show Babinski's sign. If there is nerve damage in the foot, the toes spread apart instead of together.

     Lastly, we tested our response time to something that we see. It took me an average time of 0.20 seconds to catch a falling yardstick. While on my phone, it took me an average time of 0.29 seconds to catch the falling yardstick. It was hard to focus on catching the yardstick without looking at it. This is important for drivers to understand. The brain is not very good at multitasking, especially when it can't see one of the tasks it is doing. My response time was almost 0.10 seconds slower while texting. Those 0.10 seconds could mean the difference between life and death on the road.

Here are the average response times of our class!