Introduction: (Widmaier, E., & Raff, H.

)The nervous system is a complex system our

body uses to make decisions and perform actions. It is made up of cells called
neurons and special cells called glial cells (or neuroglia). Neurons produce
responses by generating action potentials. Action potentials are formed when
graded potentials are summated at the initial segment (integrating center) of a
neuron cell body. The action potential then propogates through the axon. The
nervous system has two main branches: the Central Nervous System, and the
Periphreal Nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain
and spinal cord. The neurons in the CNS cannot heal itself when damaged ,and the
majority of cells (around 90%) are glial cells. (). The PNS has afferent (moving
toward the CNS) and efferent (moving away from the CNS) divisions that relay
information. Afferent neurons are more involved in sensory information. The afferent
neurons relay the information to the CNS where the response is decided upon.
Efferent neurons are involved in relaying the information from the CNS to the target
cell. The peripheral nervous system consists of all the nerve cells outside the brain
and spinal cord. It is further divided into two divisions: the somatic ,and the
autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system. The somatic nervous
system innervates skeletal muscle contraction. It does this by utilizing a
neuromuscular junction. Muscles contract to produce tension which generates force.
The nervous system can call other muscles through a process called recruitment if
a load is to heavy. Efferent neurons cause acetylcholine to be released at the
neuromuscular junction ,which causes the muscle to contract. The autonomic
division (ANS) innervates involuntary actions such as heart beat. The ANS is
divided into two divisions , the sympathetic and parasympathetic division. The
sympathetic is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response ,because it is more

active when one is in a dangerous situation. The parasympathetic division is often

referred to as the rest-or-digest state ,because it is more involved in digestion and
during a relaxed state. It is worth noting that both of these systems are always
working simultaneously ,just sometimes one is more powerful than the other.
(Widmaier, E., & Raff, H. End Citation)Afferent neurons are responsible for sensations of
touch. The neurons branch out and innervate areas of tissue. Tissue where the
neurons have a smaller area of innervation (like the fingers) are capable of feeling
with greater precision ,whereas areas where one neuron covers a greater area (such
as the back) have less precision. (Cutaneous Receptors and Referred Pain handout
Part B)
Since the nervous system uses electrical activity ,brain activity can be
measured using electrodes. A recording of brain activity is called an
electroencephalogram (EEG). There are four EEG rythms that can be detected:
alpha ,beta ,delta ,and theta. Typically alpha is associated with an awake adult with
eyes closed. Though alpha waves can be affected severely by diseases such as
Alzheimers. (Rach, S., Hermann, C., & Zaehle, T. )Beta is associated with adults alert to
external stimuli ,and delta and theta are associated with sleep (not REM) and
frustrating or difficult tasks. (Phlanzer, R.)
Four hypothesis were formed around the experiments done. The first
hypothesis is that areas of the body that are important for receiving information by
touch are more innervated than areas that are not important for receiving
information by touch ,which would allow those parts to better distinguish between
two points of contact. The second hypothesis is that EEG rhythms will change in
accordance with sensory and problem processing. The third hypothesis is that ,as a
force becomes larger in a muscle, the recruitment of motor units will increase. The

final hypothesis is that reaction times will become quicker with more tries that are
in fixed intervals than with intervals that are random.
Methods: The methods outlined in part B of the handout cutaneous receptors and
referred pain were followed. The methods outlined in biopac manual lesson
1,2,3,4,and 11 were followed with the exception of in lesson 2 two measurements
were taken for the dominant arm ,instead of one for the dominant arm and one for
the non-dominant arm. The subject for lesson 1,2,3 ,and 4 was a six foot tall male
weighing 160 pounds. The subject for the handout Cutaneous Receptors and
Referred Pain was a five foot ten inch male weighing 165 pounds. The subject for
lesson 11 was a five foot three inch female weighing 135 pounds.
Results: Table 1 shows the data collected for the two point threshold of various
parts of the body. The fingertips had the smallest average length of caliper
detection. The neck had the largest average distance of caliper detection. Table 2
shows the maximum clench force data for clenching the fist on both dominant and
non-dominant arm ,increasing the force after every rest period. Table 3 shows the
tonus between each clench period. The mean increases between every clench
period. Tables 2 and 3 were both from biopac lesson 1. Tables 4 and 5 shows the
data collected from biopac lesson 2. Figure 1 was created using the data from table
4. Figure 1 shows that as EMG amplitude increases ,the force increased also. Table 5
shows the maximum clench force data collected. It is worth noting that the time to
fatigue on the second trial is considerably less than on the first trial. Table 6 shows
the data collected for biopac lesson 4. The table shows EEG,Alpha , and Alpha-RMS
while doing activities including: having eyes closed, mental arithmetic, recovering
from hyperventilation, and having eyes open. Tables 9 and 10 come from lesson 11
in the biopac manual. The tables show the reaction times in milliseconds for

stimulus 1 ,5 ,and 10. Table 9 shows the data for random intervals ,and table 10
shows the data for fixed intervals.
Discussion: The receptive field of a nerve determines how much area it innervates.
Areas where the nerves have small receptive fields and the nerves are close
together have more acuity ,whereas areas where the nerves have larger receptive
fields where the nerves are far apart have less acuity. Table 1 demonstrates these
concepts. The data shows that areas where feeling is more important have
developed better acuity. The palm and fingertips have the greatest acuity ,whereas
the neck has less acuity. This is because the neck is not used to feel and manipulate
objects as often as the hands are. The data could be further improved by running
trials on other areas of the body where feeling is used moderately ,such as the
forearm or nose.
The typical range for Alpha-EEG 8hz-13hz. Table 7 shows that the Alpha-EEG
for the subject was greatest during cycle two and three at 18.18 hz. The frequency
at cycle one where the subject was initially relaxed with eyes closed was 16.66 hz.
The Alpha-EEG should be greatest in an adult that is relaxed with eyes closed ,but in
this experiment it was not for the beginning of the experiment. The reasons for this
might be because the subject was not relaxed at the beginning of the experiment.
Another reason for the unexpected values might be because the electrodes could
have been attached poorly.
Table 8 shows that the total EEG amplitude was the highest during mental
arithmetic at a value of 127.68 Hz. The reason is most likely to the amount of
mental activity that is required to do math. The Alpha wave was the highest when
the subject had their eyes closed. That result maks sense because Alpha waves

tend to be higher in relaxed adults with eyes closed. The standard deviation shows
how data is spread out from the mean. The data with the largest standard had the
largest amount of change over time. The eyes closed condition had the largest
standard deviation ,which was most likely due to the Alpha wave having to rely on
being relaxed. The eyes opened condition had the lowest standard deviation
,which was most likely because there was no change in the environment for the
subject.
The body produces stronger force by recruiting muscle fibers to aid the
muscles in the initial movement. Muscles use electrical activity to contract and
produce tension. The integrated EMG shows the electrical activity in muscles. When
there is more electrical activity that means more muscles are generating action
potentials to contract. So when the integrated EMG is larger it reflects more muscle
force being generated and additional muscles being recruited. Eventually ,if the
force needing generated is too large, all the muscles that are available will be
recruited ,which will result in the maximum force being reached. This is reflected in
Figure 1 ,which shows that as the EMG amplitude increased the force generated
increased. Another reason for muscles not being able to generating as much force
as previously is fatigue. Table five shows that the time it took for the subjects max
clench force to fatigue to 50% the initial value.
The experiment seemed to show that reaction improved with both fixed
interval trials and random interval trials. Table 9 showed the data collected for
random interval trials. The first trial the reaction time didnt improve very well ,but
the second trial showed a significant improvement. The same happened for fixed
interval trials in trial two. Fixed interval trials showed a better improvement of
reaction times than the random trials did. This is most likely due to the body being

able to predict when the next stimulus was going to occur. The standard deviation
for fixed interval trials were also lower than that of random interval trials. This
occurrence is because of the better reaction times fixed interval trials had.
The hypothesis ,that areas important for receiving information by touch will
be more innervated and thus able to distinguish between two points better ,was
supported. The fingertips and palm both were significantly more sensitive than
areas where touch is not as important ,such as the neck. The hypothesis ,that EEG
rhythm will change with mental processing and external stimuli, was supported. The
EEG was greatest when mental arithmetic was being done and smallest when no
sensory information was being processed (eyes closed). The third hypothesis was
supported by the data. The hypothesis said that as a force became larger more
motor units would be recruited. The EMG was largest during higher forces ,which
means more muscles were generating action potentials than in smaller forces. The
final hypothesis was also supported by the data. The hypothesis was that fixed
intervals would have faster reaction times than random intervals. The data shows
that in the experiment that was the case.

Tables and Figures:

Table 1:
Trial

Trial

Trial

Avg.

back of
hand

11mm

11mm

palm
neck
fingertip

1mm
19mm
1mm

10.67
mm
2.33m
5mm
1mm
m
19mm 19mm 19mm
1mm
1mm
1mm
10mm

Table 2:
clust
Dominant Arm
Non-dominant Arm
er #
Mean (mv)
Mean (mv)
1
0.051
0.101
2
0.042
0.135
3
0.102
0.218
4
0.282
0.305

Table 3: Tonus
Between
Clusters #
#1-#2
#2-#3
#3-#4

Dominant Arm Non-Dominant

Mean
Arm Mean
0.017
0.019
0.02
0.029
0.025
0.031

Table 4:

Peak #

Assigned
Force
Increment

Force at
Peak Mean
(kg)

Integrated
EMG mean
(mv)

Force at
Peak
mean
(kg)

Integrated
EMG Mean
(mv)

1
2
3
4
5

10
20
30
40
50

5.93
12.3
21.1
29.4
34.7

0.086
0.179
0.272
0.422
0.506

6.6
12
20.6
28.2
30.2

0.074
0.121
0.232
0.332
0.371

Figure 1:
6
5
4

EMG Amplitude (mv) 3

2
1
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Force (kg)

Table 5:
Trial 1
maximum
force
clench
(kg)
40.4

50% of
maximum
time to
force clench
fatigue
(kg)
(seconds)
20.2
26.4

Trial 2
maximu
m
50% of
time to
clench
max clench fatigue
force
force (kg)
(seconds)
36.85
18.43
15.2

Table 6:

Rhyth
m
Alpha
Beta

CH
Measureme
nt
STDEV
STDEV

Eyes
Eyes
Eyes ReClosed
Open
closed
4.81
4.1
5.39
4.14
3.97
4.85

Delta
Theta

STDEV
STDEV

12.5
6.07

14.3
5.41

16.02
6.43

Table 7:

Rhyth
m
Alpha
Beta
Delta
Theta

CH
Measureme
nt
Freq
Freq
Freq
Freq

Cycle 1 Cycle 2
Cycle 3
(Hz)
(Hz)
(Hz)
Mean
16.66
18.18
18.18
17.67
18.18
15.38
16.67
16.74
5.13
8.7
8
7.28
13.53
5.71
9.52
9.52

Table 8:

condition
eyes closed
(control)
mental arithmatic
recovering from
hyperventilation
eyes open

Eeg
standar
d
deviatio
n

alpha
standard
deviation

alphaRMS
mean

Apha
Rms
Summar
y

14.28
127.68

5.41
4.3

1.08
0.7

-0.38 negative

17.66
13.51

4.16
3.53

0.82
0.69

-0.26 negative
-0.39 negative

Table 9: Random Interval Reaction Times

trial1 mean
trial1
Standard dev.
trial2 mean
trial2
standard dev.

AlphaRms
Differe
nce

stimulus1
stimulus1
stimulus5
0
0.341
0.304
0.33
0.12
0.322

0.118
0.31

0.147
0.287

0.07

0.1596

0.064

Table 10: Fixed Interval Reaction Times

trial1 mean
trial1
standard
dev.
trial2 mean
trial2
standard
dev.

stimulus
stimulus1
stimulus5
10
0.338
0.251
0.2664
0.053
0.3156

0.039
0.2596

0.071
0.242

0.09

0.0497

0.041

References:
Widmaier, E., & Raff, H. (2013). Vander's human physiology: The mechanisms of body
function. (10th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Phlanzer, R. (2014). Electrocephalography I. In Biopac Student Lab: Laboratory manual.
(Student/Bookstore version ed., p. Lesson 3 page 3). Goleta, California: Biopac Systems
Rach, S., Hermann, C., & Zaehle, T. (n.d.). Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Enhances
Individual Alpha Activity in Human EEG. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0013766#s1

Cutaneous Receptors and Referred Pain handout Part B