Justina Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Hello, I have encountered one thoretical issue while writting a lab report of option about neurobiology, where we did an experiment, in which we investigated a time of a reflex. Visual was the one where we saw how a ruler is falling down and we had to carch it as fast as possible. Tactile was the one when we had our eyes closed, but we slightly felt the ruler falling and we had to catch it. Perhaps somebody did the same lab and could share their ideas about which reflex should be faster? I think that visual, but as results of some people in my class vere completely different, I'm a bit lost. Help, please Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim luffy Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I think visual should be faster because when your eyes are closed you can't see the ruler falling so your reaction time to catching it would be less compared to when you can see it falling. When you can see, you can react faster and probably quicker. Someone correct me if i'm wrong Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Well TBH I'm not really sure how this is testing reflexes - it depends on how you did the falling ruler bit, but it seems to me that you're comparing instant stimulus (seeing the ruler fall) with a delayed stimulus (feeling the air generated by the ruler falling?? How did you do this?). So the variable which is meant to be constant is actually also changed.Technically, to my understanding of the whole thing, the tactile stimulus should be faster as it requires less neural processing. But only if it's a decent tactile stimulus - and I'm not really sure that this is! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justina Posted February 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 The part where we had to do experiment with our eyes closed was instructed as follows: "The subject's finger just touching the ruler and eyes are closed. As soon as the ruler is felt to start to fall, the subject grips it." I was thinking about the neural processing too, but I am still not sure. from one side, reaction to visual stimuli could be faster, because the information takes less time to "travel" from eyes to the brain and to hand muscle, while tactile stimulus has to "travel" from the end of the fingertips to the brain and then back to muscle. On the other hand, perhaps tactile stimuli does not involve processing in the brain, but it is a reflex similar to that of a knee.. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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