Portable conduction velocity experiments using earthworms for the college and high school neuroscience teaching laboratory.

ABSTRACT: The earthworm is ideal for studying action potential conduction velocity in a classroom setting, as its simple linear anatomy allows easy axon length measurements and the worm's sparse coding allows single action potentials to be easily identified. The earthworm has two giant fiber systems (lateral and medial) with different conduction velocities that can be easily measured by manipulating electrode placement and the tactile stimulus. Here, we present a portable and robust experimental setup that allows students to perform conduction velocity measurements within a 30-min to 1-h laboratory session. Our improvement over this well-known preparation is the combination of behaviorally relevant tactile stimuli (avoiding electrical stimulation) with the invention of minimal, low-cost, and portabl

SUBMITTER: Shannon KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4116350 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature