Practicals Flashcards
What is low/high pass filtering?
Low pass: low frequency components allowed to pass
High pass: high frequency components allowed to pass through
Filtering generally removes noice from data
What is aliasing
When the sample rate is too low to accuractly capture changes in the sample
Ideally sampling rate should be twice the frequency of the original signal
What is the resolution of the powerlab?
The number of ‘steps’ in between the minimum and maximum voltage. Basically how clean the data will look.
Define systolic and diastolic pressure
Peak pressure reached during the cardiac cycle (after ventricular contraction)
Diastolic is the the lowest measurement for arterial blood pressure.
What side of the artifical cell do we change the concentration of KCl in?
The reference side
How is potential difference across an artifical membrnae reported from the power lab?
Test side relative to reference
+20mV means the test side is 20mV more positive than the reference
Nernst equation
Eion = 58/z log(10) ([ref]/[test])
Eion = equilibrum potential at 20 degrees in mV
Relate voltage charge and capacitance
V = Q/C (= IR)
- the larger the capacitance, the more charge that can be stored at a given voltage
- capacitance of a capacitor can be increased by having a larger surface area or the plates being close together
Some capacitance things to remember
Current only flows through the capacitor when it is charging
Voltage increases at a capacitor while it is charging till it reaches a maximum (Q/C)
Time constant definition
Resistance*Capacitance.
Time taken for voltage to reach 63% original value after capacitor is attached.
Equation for voltage across a charging capacitor?
V(t) = Vt(1-e^(-t/T))
T = time constant
What does the finger pulse transducer measure?
Change in force not a measure of the actual force applied
Can convert change in force to force by intergrating with respect to time.
What is the dicrotic notch?
As the heart relaxes, aortic pressure exceeds that in left ventricle and the backflow of blood as the aortic valve closes creates a small notch.
What graph should we plot for values for voltage against reference concentration?
Semi log plot
y-axis: voltage
x-axis: log([K+]ref)
To give a straight line
Why might measured membrane potentials be different to those predicted by the nernst equation?
Membrane is partially permeable to chloride as well as to potassium.
Why do membranes have such a high capacitance?
Because the phospholipid bilayer is thin and very close together
Some key features of the earthworm and their location
Prostomium at the anterior end
Clitellum on dorsal side: glandular structure that produces coocoon for eggs to be deposited into
Gonopore: male openings on the body surface
What makes up the ventral nerve cord of earthworms?
1000 neurones
Median giant fibre (myleinated - unusal in inverebrates) and two lateral giant fibres
Each giant fibre behaves as though it were a singal axon
Role of median and lateral fibres
Median: action potentials from anterior to posterior
Lateral: action potentials from posterior to anterior
Role of stimulating electrodess
Produce an electrical current that depolarises the nerve fibres
Specifically the cathode (as it reduces the potential difference between the inside and outside of the axon)
Role of the earth electrode
Reduce noice and the stimulating artifact
Stimulus artefact: due to teh stimulating current traveling directly to the recording electrodes rather than through stimulating the nerve fibres
Calculation for nerve conduction velocity
Difference method
(D2 - D1) / (LP2 - LP1)
Define latency period
Delay between point of stimulation and the action potential reaching the first recording electrode.
What may change the ampnitude of the action potential measured in the worm median giant fibre?
The distance between the recording electrodes and the actual nerve fibre
Furthur distance = more resistance = smaller recorded action potential.
Overall, the electrical resistance of the tissue will make a difference
Which earthworm fibres are stimulated at low stimulating voltages?
The median giant fibres are stimulated at low volatges
Lateral fibres respond at higher voltages due to recruitment (and they have a longer latency)
- possibly due to fewer sodium ion channels
Which of the earthworm fibres has a lower conduction velocity?
The lateral giant fibres (not myleinated)
Why does latency period increase with freezing the fibres?
Affects kinetic properties of channel opeing mechanism (slow the rate that they open)
Sodium channels also inactivate more slowly and potassium channels open more slowly, effecting repolarisation
How can we determine the scaling coefficent?
Plot a log log graph
The gradient of the graph is equal to the scaling coefficent
Use a statistical test to determine is scaling coefficent differs significantly from what was predicted
How to calculate volume O2 consumed by shrimp in the time frame? (a measure of metabolic rate)
VO2 = (V x C (PO - P1) x 60) / t
V = volume of water that the shrimp was in
C = concentration O2 at 100% saturation at experimental temperature
P0 = reading 1
P1 = reading 2
t = time in minutes between readings
Assumptions made when using oxygen concentration to measure metabolic rate?
Constant amount of energy produced for each litre of oxygen
(will actually differ depending on food consumed)
How would tibia length of a locus expect to scale with body mass?
length is proportional to mass^(1/3)
How is force expected to scale with body mass?
Force is proportional to cross sectional area of muscle
Area is proportional to mass^(2/3)
Therefore expect force to be proportional to mass^(2/3)
How is acceleration expected to scale with body mass?
Accleration = force/mass
accleration proportional to mass^(-1/3)
How does take off velocity scale with body size?
velocity = root(2 x acceleration x distance)
= m^0 = constant
Take of velocity expected to be independent of body mass
Why might the prediction that take off velocity is independent of mass not be met?
Drag disproportionally affects smaller animals
Also possible that small and large locusts are not isometric