Reflex Lab

In the photopupillary relfex test, the first photo is right after Alyssa removed
her hand from her eye, and the second photo is a few seconds after her eye had
adjusted to the intense light. 

In this lab, we learned about various reflexes including, photopupillary, patellar, blink, and plantar. With the first relfex test, we triggered the photopupillary reflex, therefore the cilliary body of the iris contracted, decreasing the size of the pupil causing less light to enter the eye. This relfex was tested on Alyssa, and as we flashed the light into her eye, there was a small change in the size of her pupil as it adjusted to the change in light.  As for the next test, we tested the patellar-or knee jerk- reflex. For this reflex, it is a monosynaptic reflex-there is only one synapse needed to complete the reflex- and the tap below the knee is then sent to the spinal cord , then one synapse in the ventral horn is completed, and the information is sent back out to the muscle. This reflex was tested on my knee, and which naturally reacted to the tap below the knee by kicking out. However, after completing the air squats, my reaction to the tap was less intense than before. Next, we tested the blink reflex, which is a natural reaction in order to protect the eye from harm. After that test, we moved onto the plantar reflex, and as Alyssa responded to it slightly as her toes moved together, the reaction was not as "strong" as other individuals may have been due to the fact that she dances. Then, testing the reaction time with the ruler- without initially texting- seemed to be much quicker than reaction time with the ruler. Without texting, the body requires visual information to travel into your brain, then the individuals brain sends a motor command to the muscles in his/her hand and arm, and then that command causes the individual to catch the ruler. However, adding in texting, the brain is no longer solely focused on catching the ruler, but now is forced to multitask, and slowing down the reaction time. This is why texting and driving can be so dangerous, seeing that the brain cannot put its entire focus into both task, and therefore, slowing the brains reaction time.