20 Time Final Post

I presented my 20 Time project and its results in class where it recorded and the video is below. I think overall my Ted Talk went well. I had rehearsed my talk several times and each time I had gone over the allotted 5 minutes so I was continuously trying to cut out unnecessary information so I was happy to see that I was able to slow my talking down a bit and fit in the time frame. However because I was adjusting my presentation over and over it was hard to remember how I wanted to say things so I was stumbling in my words some. Another thing is my acknowledgement of the sources I used and the citations. When I watched the video again, I noted that I did not explicitly name my sources but when I discussed that men eat more in the presence of women, parents should not force children to clean their plates, and how much a person cleans off their place, I was talking about Cornell and Dr. Wansink's studies, and Stanford's culture and food studies as well. The citations of these are seen in my final works cited slide even though I failed to explicitly say, 'According to..." Actually giving the talk, I was not as nervous as I thought I would be and it turned out that I did not need my notes. It was fascinating listening to other people's presentations, especially if I had not previously read their blog posts on their projects. I really liked the 20 Time project idea but it was difficult for me to settle on one topic so I think it would have been better to explore other topics and do some research on them first before sticking with one. From my presentation, I learned that it is extremely important to be clear and thorough since I had to realize that even though I may know a lot about the topic, no one else does. On the rubric, I think I would grade myself how it was graded since I realize that I was not clear on what sources I actually cited.

20 Time Reflection

My 20 Time experience did not go as I had but I feel nevertheless that I have learned from this experience. Initially I wanted to do an experiment on how color affects people's perceptions but having the means to carry out that experiment was beyond my abilities. Instead I shifted my topic to subconscious cues and decided to gather research to write a paper on it. I chose this because it was similar to my original topic but by focusing on subconscious cues in relation to food, I was able to incorporate something I am interested in as well. Through my 20 time project I just wanted to be able to research something that interested me and possibly make something out of it. Since I got started later I was not able to get a whole lot done but I did most of my research and know where the paper is heading and I have a brief outline. However even in my English class, just writing an outline and doing the research was a long and time-consuming process so I feel that I have gotten a good start. I was able to find research from labs such as Cornell and their research has showed me how extensive it can get. I learned about time-management and also about how people can change their habits to subconsciously change how they eat. One of my biggest difficulties was not getting distracted from my main topic while researching since there were many other topics it could branch out to. That said, if I could do this again I would have my project to be researching a certain area of a broader topic each week instead of confining myself to just one. I hope to be able to continue with this and just make a habit of looking things up once in a while to broaden my understanding of the world.
I will begin my story with an anecdote about eating then transition into subconscious cues. To make it more interesting I will relate it to teenagers and people in general, especially those who like eating and then conclude it with a call to action.

Reflexes Lab

In this lab, we tested our reflexes using different experiments and actions. Reflexes are rapid involuntary responses to stimuli such as touch and a reflex arc is a pathway to nerve impulses that happens extremely quickly and so does not go to the brain. Reflexes can regulate smooth muscles or stimulate skeletal muscles, it can regulate the heart and glands, digestion, and blood pressure and sweating as well. From this lab I was able to see how quickly the body reacted to different stimuli and how the body reacted as well.This, I could understand at a chemical level through neurons and reflex arcs. The different reflexes in this lab, such as the plantar reflex, also showed how reflexes can show the functionality of our nervous system.

This shows the photopupillary reflex wher the iris contracts and the pupil get smaller due to the bright light.

In the photopupillary reflex, the iris contracts to decrease the size of the pupil so that less light enters the pupil. This can be seen when the eye is exposed to bright light after a period of darkness and the pupil changes size. I was able to witness this in the lab as the pupil decreased. This reflex occurred so that less light would enter the eye because the bright light is a stark contrast to the dark and so the eye needs to be able to adjust.
The patellar reflex is also known as the knee jerk reflex and is when the leg kicks out when the place just below the knee gets hit. Clearly, this reflex can be seen when the leg kicks out and this worked when I hit my lab partner's knee when his legs were crossed. This reflex occurs because the thigh muscle stretches and that sends a message to the spinal cord and so the sense gets sent back out and the reflex occurs.

The blink reflex is when a person blinks when witnessing a stimulus that is moving at a fast speed and it close or nearby to the eyes or face. This can be seen through an experiment where you throw a cotton ball at a person with a see through barrier in front of him/her or suddenly clapping your hands in front of their face. This reflex has evolved due to the need to react to predators quickly and helps the eyes 'defend' themselves against whatever may attack or hurt the organism.
The plantar reflex is a person's foot's reaction to an upward movement on the foot. When I dragged the pen cap up along my lab partner's foot, his toes flexed, showing a normal reaction of the plantar reflex. This reflex occurred because the toes moved closer together showing that there is not nerve damage and that the toes are reacting appropriately. This is also known as the Babinski sign.
In the last reflex, we tested our response times by having one person drop a yardstick and another person catch it as fast as he/she could. Through the distance measured, we could convert that to reaction time. The reaction time decreased significantly by each trial going from 0.35 seconds to nearly zero seconds. However, when the person was texting, the reaction time increased dramatically to over 0.5 seconds. This occurs because the eyes sense the movement and sends the signal and the brain sends a signal to grab the yardstick. This shows just how quick our reflexes and mental processes can be.

The Brain Map

Cerebral Cortex
1. The frontal lobe is responsible for a person's personality but it also controls language, judgment and impulse, and problem solving.
2. Relationship between learning and selective attention is that learning is a person's capacity to respond to certain stimuli when activated simultaneously and learning is
3. The frontal lobe is the last part of the brain to develop. People can help prevent it from deteriorating by choosing to not "zone out" and instead, focusing on their environment and the five senses. In addition, transforming information by looking at the bigger picture or analyzing things is better than just memorizing and it helps exercise the frontal lobe.
4. The neo cortex governs the senses, spatial awareness and motor skills and is very receptive to environmental enrichment.
5. The prefrontal cortex controls a person's personality and is responsible for how a person behaves.
6. In addition, the pre-frontal cortex prevents people from multitasking.
7. Broca's area is the section of the brain responsible for speech and language development. One interesting fact about this area is that it also helps people know how to respond to social cues.
8. The somatosensory cortex is the area that conveys touch and where the body responds to receptors such as temperature.
9. The visual cortex help people distinguish color and differentiate faces and other complex things such as that.
10. Some interesting things about the occipital lobe are that it helps people visualize themselves doing certain things when they concentrate on it, it helps people understand their place in the world, and it processes the imaginary.
11. If the temporal lobes were damaged, people would forget simple things such as where they put their keys or how to get to the park.
12. The "fast brain" is the portion of the brain that works quickly to respond to immediate signals or stressors.
Neuron
13. Three things that I could do to influence my synapses would be to practice my reflexes, exercise more to get them firing, or doing speed or memory games to work the brain. These would all positively influence my life as they would be helping me exercise both my body and my brain.
14. Multisensory or multimodal learning is where students are being taught to use more than one of their sense to learn things. This can be very beneficial for students with disabilities as it allows them to sense things in different ways to enhance their learning. The ability for dendrite growth is thought to play a role in learning and memory formation.
15. Big picture thinking and mnemonics affects dendrites and/or learning because dendrite spine plasticity and the synaptic connections store meaningful information used for learning. Therefore these devices and affect the dendrite spines.
16.  A neurotransmitter that is important is norepinephrine since it plays a role in wakefulness, learnin, and memory. This is essential to the human body as it helps us to continue to learn and to grow, helping develop a person to their full potential.
Limbic System
17. The corpus callosum divides the brain into the left and right hemisphere and conveys the messages between the tw. For example the right eye's information is conveyed to the left hemisphere of the brain.
18. Music and the corpus callosum are related because it has been researched that musicians have larger corpus callosums as musical training increases the plasticity of the corpus callosum.
19. The thalamus is important because it is involved in sensory perception and relaying sensory information to the cerebral cortex.
Relate and Review
The different parts of the brain each play significant roles in a person's development, both physically and mentally. For example, the neo cortex is responsible for motor control and spatial awareness while the prefrontal cortex plays a large role in a person's personality and behaviour. In addition to sections of the brain, neurotransmitters are extremely important in a person's development. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA, dopamine, and nor-epinephrine are involved in a person's memory, learning, and more. The corpus callosum and thalamus, parts of the limbic system, are also important as they help convey information from the brain to other parts of the body.





An interactive infographic by Open Colleges

Brain Dissection Analysis

In this lab we dissected the brain of a sheep in order to better understand the placement of different parts of the brain and their functions. In addition, we were able to identify grey matter and white matter sections of the brain. This lab helped give me a better sense of where parts of the brain are, specifically parts such as the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. Previously I had thought them to be further towards the center of the brain near the thalamus and hypothalamus but in truth, they are closer to the brain stem and look like 'bumps.' In a neuron, myelin forms an electrically insulating layer that helps conduct electrical impulses through nerve cells.

This is my longitudinal depiction of the brain.

This is the longitudinal view of the brain.

This is a view of the brain from the top.

This is my depiction of the brain from the top.

My depiction of the cross section showing grey and white matter.

Cross section of the brain showing grey and white matter.

Sheep Eye Dissection Analysis

In class, we dissected a sheep's eye to better understand the structure and physiology of the eye. First we cut all the fatty tissue off of the eye and there was a significant amount of it. This is because it is the cushion for the eye while the extrinsic muscles move the eye. The cornea was the bluish part while the optic nerve was behind that. Then we cut through the sclera which is very tough and makes up the 'whites' of the eye. When we cut it open we saw the retina, vitreous humor and choroid, which was behind the retina. The retina contains the photoreceptors for vision while the vitreous humor is a clear gel-like substance and the choroid which brings blood, nourishment, and oxygen to the eye. The tapetum lucidum is a part of animal eyes that is not a part of human eyes as it helps with night vision as it reflects light. The ciliary bodies surrounding the lens encircle the lens and controls lens shape while the lens focuses light on the retina. One condition of the lens is cataracts which is when the lens becomes cloudy and the amount of light reaching the retina is lessened or prevented. When the lens is removed, it reveals the iris and pupil; between the iris and cornea is aqueous humor which also helps maintain the shape of the eye. A condition of the aqueous humor is glaucoma where fluid pressure becomes too high and it damages the eye. Like with the tapetum lucidum, a sheep's eye is different from a human's also because the pupil of a sheep's eye is more oval-shaped compared to that of a human's. From this lab, I could clearly see the different structures and functions of the eye and how significant the relationship between the two is, such as with the shape of the pupil and retina.

20 Time Blog #4: Presliced Fruits!

So far I have gotten to research a lot about this topic as Cornell has a branch of study regarding food psychology. By doing this instead, there is already completed research and it is up to me to sort and pick out the research that is relevant and more worthwhile. Some things to note were: Don’t force little kids to clean their plates which shows that parenting has a role in obesity/eating behaviours; Putting healthy food such as fruits out on counters instead of unhealthy foods such as chips subconsciously help you eat healthier; children are more likely to eat pre-sliced fruits. I've learned that although research is research, there can be clear bias in the analysis of that research, especially when an outcome is 'predetermined,' so to speak. My next step will be to continue to research and to start a compiled paper on this. This topic is definitely applicable to myself and my community/country as America is becoming increasingly related with obesity.