1. Lab One: A beginner’s guide to the spikerbox

2. Brain Cells need to communicate with each other to control the body A brain with only one neuron is not a brain A brain is a network (friendship) of neurons

3. How do neurons talk? Method 1: Chemical communication e.g. Bacteria Con: slow, limited by diffusion

4. How do neurons talk? Method 2: Chemical communication through synapse e.g. stretching the neuron to cover more space Con: still slow, signal must travel long way through cell

5. How do neurons talk? Method 3: Electrical and chemical combination Electricity carries signal quickly down long axon to synapse, chemical transmission at synapse to the next neuron

6. Electrical Neural Communication: The Action Potential Action potentials (“spikes”) are generated by Na infusion depolarizing the cell membrane and K expulsion repolarizing it. Spike “moves” as depolarization propagates down axon

7. Wikipedia.org Anatomy of the Neuron

8. Model of the nervous system: Discoid cocroach (Blaberus discoidalis)

9. Neuroanatomy of Cockroach

10. Neuroanatomy of Cockroach Leg

11. Procedures: Put the cockroach in a jar of ice water

12. Procedures: Cut off one of roach’s legs near the body (Put petroleum jelly on exposed wound on body and leg, return cockroach to house, leg will grow back if cockroach not full grown adult)

13. Procedures: Place leg on cork of SpiderBox, with a bit of leg overhang

14. Procedures: Put one electrode in the femur and the other in the coxa

15. Procedures: Observe the spike trains, demonstrating neuron communication

16. Classify spikes by amplitude: binning

17. Entering Your Data