The SpikerBox: a low cost, open-source bioamplifier for increasing public participation in neuroscience inquiry.

ABSTRACT: Although people are generally interested in how the brain functions, neuroscience education for the public is hampered by a lack of low cost and engaging teaching materials. To address this, we developed an open-source tool, the SpikerBox, which is appropriate for use in middle/high school educational programs and by amateurs. This device can be used in easy experiments in which students insert sewing pins into the leg of a cockroach, or other invertebrate, to amplify and listen to the electrical activity of neurons. With the cockroach leg preparation, students can hear and see (using a smartphone oscilloscope app we have developed) the dramatic changes in activity caused by touching the mechanosensitive barbs. Students can also experiment with other manipulations such as temperature, drug

SUBMITTER: Marzullo TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3310049 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature