Movies and the Heart

Abstract: Human beings are driven by our emotions. Knowing this, we guessed that the movie genres would have noticeable effect on our emotions. Horror films evoke fear, while action films entertain and thrill us. Likewise, documentaries can be very technical and sometimes evoke boredom, and romance films give us the fluttering butterfly effect. This is why we decided to form an experiment to determine how these emotions affect heart rate and blood pressure. We had two test subjects watch 5 minute clips of each genre mentioned, as we recorded their heart rate and blood pressure in one minute intervals. It was proven in our experiment that different genres of movies do effect our heart rate and blood pressure. However, we found that the reactions really depend on the person and their relation to the genres. During the horror test, our two subjects reacted differently because the first subject was familiar with horror movies, while the other subject was not causing her to reacted more. Both subjects had a level reaction during the action test, as well as during the documentary test. During the romance test, the subject’s reactions showed that the movie had a calming effect.


Problem: Does the genre of a movie have an effect on people’s heart rate and blood pressure?


Hypothesis: We believe that a person’s heart rate and blood pressure correspond to the genre of movie they watch. During the tests, we expect to see the highest heart rate/blood pressure during the horror and action test. Likewise, we expect to see a lower jump in heart rate/blood pressure during the romance and documentary tests.



Materials:

• Computer
• Logger Pro
• Hand Grip Heart Rate Monitor
• Blood Pressure Cuff
• Movie Clips

Procedure: 1) Select a movie clips from each of the following genres: Horror, Action Documentary, and Romance.

2) Have two test subjects watch each clip separately, while monitoring their blood pressure and heart rate.
3) Record and compare the data collected from each person.


Conclusion: After we completed our experiment on our two test subjects, we came to a conclusion that different genres do effect a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. However, we also concluded that the size of the reactions depends on the person. In our experiment, Sarah and Maria were consistent during the documentary and action genre tests. However, when it came to horror, Sarah reacted very strongly to the clip because she never watches horror movies. On the other hand, Maria is used to watching horror movies and hardly reacted at all. During the romantic genre both Maria and Sarah gradually dropped, as if the genre was soothing to them.

EKG Lab

Different ways of monitoring the heart:

Auscultation: The act of using a stethoscope to listen to sounds made by the heart, blood, and lungs.

Echocardiography: A technique that uses ultrasound to visualize the details of the heart.

Electrocardiography (ECG or EKG): A graphic representation of the heart's electrical activity over time.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A technique to obtain high-resolution images of organs within the human body. This is done by mapping the distribution of hydrogen nuclei.

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EKG LAB

Objective: To obtain a graphical representation of the electrical activity of the heart.

Materials:

• Computer
• Computer Interface
• Logger Pro
• EKG Sensor
• Electrode Tabs

Procedure:

1. We first connected the EKG Sensor to the computer interface, and opened the file "12 Analyzing Heart EKG" in Logger Pro.
2. Next we attached three electrode tabs to our arms. On a right arm we placed two tabs - one on the inside of the upper forearm and the other on the wrist. On the left arm we only placed one tab - on the inside of the upper forearm. 
3. Then we connected the EKG clips to the electrode tabs. We then had our test subjects sit in a relaxed position with their forearms resting on their legs. Once the subjects were in the proper position we began to collect data.

Data/Analysis:

An example of a normal EKG:

The P Wave represents atrial contraction.
The QRS Wave represents ventricular contraction.
The T Wave represents ventricular repolarization, or the recovery period of the heart.


My own EKG

This shows that I have a small QRS wave and a long T wave, or a long recovery period.

Overall this lab showed that everyone's heart beat is different, but there are certain things (P, QRS, and T wave) that are constant.

Anatomy of the Heart: Sheep, Pig, and Cow Heart Dissection

In this lab the class was divided into several groups, and each group dissected either a sheep, pig, or cow heart. After the dissection was complete, each group moved around the room and collected data on all three different types of heart.

1. The basic structure of each heart is pretty much the same throughout each heart specimen. Each heart has four chamber (two atriums and two ventricles) and contains an aorta and pulmonary trunk. The only difference between the hearts is the size of each structure.
2. There were many differences between each heart specimen. The cow heart was very fatty and firm. Both the pig and sheep heart were softer and did not have as much fat surrounding them. Also the overall size each heart and its structures differed from each other.
3. Adaptive reasons for the difference in size would probably be due to the actual size of each animal. A sheep does not need a heart the size of a cow because it is considerably smaller than a cow.

A picture of the cow heart my group dissected. It was the best one. :)

Reflex Lab

Purpose: 

To see the difference between voluntary and involuntary movements of the body. Why are reflexes faster than voluntary movement?

Materials:

• Computer
• Reflex Hammer
• Accelerometer 
• Logger Pro
• Electrode Tabs

Procedure:

1. In this lab we recorded different people's reflexes. First, two electrode tabs were placed on the subject's legs, across the muscle.
2. The reflex hammer, with the accelerometer strapped to it and plugged into the computer using Logger Pro, was hit against the desk. As soon as the subject heard the hammer being hit, they were to voluntarily kick their leg.
3. The next test was just a simple reflex test. The reflex hammer was used to hit the subject's reflex, and it was recorded on the computer.
4. Next, the subject's reflexes were recorded while resistance was happening in another part of the body. The subject locked their hands together and tried to pull them apart as hard as they could. During this time their reflexes were being tested and recorded.
5. The final test was another simple reflex test. The data was taken right after the resistance test, expect the subject was to relax and not have resistance.

Data/Analysis :

This is a graph of the average time our test subject's reflexes took. In the resistance tests it is shown that with resistance the subject's reflexes were much slower than without resistance. The first bar shows that the voluntary test took much longer than the involuntary test. 

• In the voluntary test the subject kicked their leg an average of .426 seconds after they heard the sound of the hammer hitting. While in the involuntary test, it took an average of .076 seconds for the leg to react after being hit with the reflex hammer. The difference in time is due to the actions in the body. In the voluntary test the brain had to process the hitting of the hammer before the subject could kick their leg. However, in the involuntary test, a circuit from the leg to the spinal cord was used, kicking out the use of the brain completely. This made the action of the involuntary test much faster because it was an automatic response, without the need to travel all the way to the brain and back to the leg.

History of the Brain

History of the Brain on Prezi

Neurophysiology Lab

The Virtual Neurophysiology Lab

Hypothesis: 


The purpose of this lab is to observe the electrical activities of neurons while stimulus is delivered. I believe that the electrical activities of a single neuron will be affected more by a stronger stimuli versus a weaker stimuli. 
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Materials:

• Feather
• Probe
• Forceps
• Scissors
• Pins
• Scalpel 
• Dissection Tray
• Leech Tank
• 20% Ethanol
• Leech Tongs
• Dissection Microscope
• Micromanipulator
• Oscilloscope
• Leech

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Procedure:

1. Use the leech tongs to place the leech in 20% ethanol solution to anesthetize it.
2. Pin the leech dorsal side up through the anterior and posterior suckers onto the dissection try. 
3. Use the scissors to make a cut in the skin. Cut along the mid-line on the dorsal surface. Make sure not to damage deep structures.
4. Use forceps to carefully pull the skin along the cut and pin down the left and right halves of the skin to each side. This way the leech is pinned open, and its innards are exposed.
5. Carefully remove the internal organs in order to expose the nervous system.
6. Us the scalpel  to make two parallel cuts across the animal. Make sure the removed strip contains a ganglion. Use the forceps to flip the skin over, and pin it so that the outer skin in facing upwards.
7. With a very fine scalpel cut the sinus, and using the forceps move the sinus until the ganglion is exposed. You will now be able to see individual cells under a microscope.
8. Move the electrode over the ganglion to stimulate the process of penetrating a cell. Keep moving the electrode until you find a cell. 
9. Use the feather (probe or forceps work as well) to push around the skin of the leech. Check if the penetrated cell responds to weak (feather), medium (probe), or strong (forceps) stimulus. 
10. Begin your anatomical investigation. Inject the cell with a fluorescent dye. Now that the cell is dyed, click the UV switch in order to see the dyed cell in UV light. You can now identify the cell by using the Atlas.

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Results: 


There were five different types of cells found, and each of them reacted differently to different stimuli. The Atlas for the lab shows all the different ways each cell reacted to the different stimuli:

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Conclusions: 


Overall, no one stimuli caused the most electrical activity in all five cells. There were cases, such as the N cell, where the strongest stimuli was the only cause for electrical activity. However, in other cells, like the T cell, the weakest stimuli caused the greatest activity. Overall, all the cell types, with one exception, showed some type of activity when one type of stimuli was delivered.