SpikerBox/BioAmplifier

-allows you to hear and see spikes (i.e. action potentials) of real living neurons in
insects and other invertebrates.
-I plugged the connecting sound cable of the machinery to a laptop to see the
spikes I was hearing through a sound software. I used the bioamplifier everyday when I
was experimenting my red worms. The purpose of using this machine was to pin the
worms with electrodes in a faraday cage and then send signals through it with a tap on
the worms anus. I would see and hear these signals through the sound software.
Audacity Software
- After collecting data using the spikerbox, the Audacity software let me see the
results of my experimentation. Audacity is a sound software that lets people record
sounds and outputs it in a sound wave format.
-To analyze the data I obtained from the bioamplifier, I had to change many of
the settings in Audacity to see the spikes in the wave output. I had to do the following:
Go to edit, then preferences:
i. change the Playback setting into OUTPUT
ii.
change the recording setting into INPUT
iii.
Under RECORDING uncheck OVERDUB and check SOFTWARE
PLAYTHROUGH
When I did this, I began experimenting with the bioamplifier. Once finished with
collecting data, I went back to Audacity and zoomed into a spike for each trial I took.
When I zoomed in, I could see the delay in time of the signal reaching channel 2. I
subtracted the time of channel 2 and channel 1, and I divided the distance between
electrode 2 and 1 by this difference in time to find out the conduction velocity of the
signal I sent.
Four Worm Farms
-Each worm farm had a lid that holes in it so the soil and the worms can breathe.
In each worm farm, there would be 50% worm bedding and 50% organic soil. In
addition, it would have 2 rows of worm food a day, 100 mL of distilled water, and the
red worms. For the experimentation farms, there would be different concentrations of
the lachrymal chemicals.
-I used these worm farms every day to get my worms out and ready for
experimentation. I left the experimental worms in these farms for a day to find out if
lachrymal chemicals had an effect on the conduction velocity of a synapse even long
after the worm is exposed to the chemical.
Fume Hood
-The fume hood is a
ventilation device that is designed to limit exposure to
hazardous or toxic fumes, vapors or dusts.

-The fume hood was used almost every day to get my experimental worms out of
their farms, or to dilute and prepare the lachrymal chemicals. The lachrymal chemicals
are hazardous, they irritate the eyes and other sensory organs because thats their
purpose. After getting all the chemicals prepared or getting the worms out of their
farms, I began experimentation with the spikerbox and Audacity software.