Recording electrical
messages from bugs
is much easier than
recording electrical
messages from the
human brain . . . .
rate at which these spikes travel down
the axon. This is how the brain encodes
information.
We can do an experiment to see how
this works. Remember that we said these
neurons send information about touch
or wind. By gently blowing on the leg
or touching the hairs of the leg with a
toothpick, you will notice a change in the
rate of spikes. This is known as “rate coding,” which means that as the intensity of
touching increases, the frequency (rate)
of action potentials also increases. You
can test this directly by observing the
spikes as you vary the amount of pressure on the barbs. You can also watch my
TED-Ed talk about these experiments at
on.ted.com/Gage.
There are many more experiments you
can perform to understand more about
how the brain works. For example, you
can carry out experiments to learn how
the chemical synapses work, how electricity allows our muscles to move, how
Promote printing and cutting success…
Created by an
Occupational Therapist
…for your
young children.
• Student Handwriting
Workbooks
• Activity Books
• Adapted Paper and
Journals
• Alphatrangles
• Magnetic
Rectasquare Board
• Letterbox Worksheets
• The Cutting Program
• and more
TM
Beverly H. Moskowitz, DOT MS OTR/L
temperature affects neurons, and how to
communicate with the nervous system
using electricity. We hope you get started
with your exploration today.
If you like learning about the brain, you
may like to learn more about becoming a
neuroscientist. While we know a lot about
how the brain works, there are still many
When you hook up an iPad, you can see the the spikes as they travel down the axon. The two peaks highlighted here are spikes from the same neuron. You can see smaller spikes as well. Those are spikes from the other neurons.
questions that remain unanswered, such
as these: How do we perceive consciousness? Why do we sleep? and How can
we prevent brain diseases? Having more
people looking at these questions can help
us understand the brain more quickly!
Greg Gage is a DIY Neuroscientist and
cofounder of Backyard Brains, an educational neuroscience company that
manufactures low-cost neuroscience kits
for amateurs and students. With their
SpikerBox kits, you too can do neurosci-ence experiments, right from your own
home. Visit backyardbrains.com for
more videos and details.
