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Talia Avia

Teaching Assistant: Karly Milton

Biol 164

February 25, 2021

Frog Heart Results and Discussion Lab report

Results

Table 1: Observed Effect of Caffeine, Acetylcholine, and Calcium on Heart Rate and

Contractility of a Frog’s Heart

Drug Chronotropic effect Inotropic effect (positive,

(positive, negative, no effect) negative, no effect)

caffeine positive positive

acetylcholine negative negative

calcium negative positive

The drug was injected into an isolated frog heart and the data was recorded as soon as an effect was noticed.
Increased cardiac activity relative to the baseline readings is indicated as a “positive” effect and a decrease in
activity is indicated as a “negative” effect. The chronotropic effect represents a change in heart rate. The inotropic
effect represents a change in heart contractility.

The results shown in table 1 indicate that drugs have an effect on an isolated frog’s heart.

Caffeine had both positive chronotropic and inotropic effects on the frog’s heart. Whereas,

acetylcholine had both negative chronotropic and inotropic effects on the frog’s heart. Calcium

had a negative chronotropic effect, but a positive inotropic effect.

Discussion

A positive inotropic effect was expected for calcium because injecting the heart with

calcium increases the ability for it to leak into the intracellular fluid, overall increasing the

calcium concentration in the intracellular fluid. This enables more actin-myosin interactions

which create more muscle contractions and increase the strength of them (Waters et al., 2020). A
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negative chronotropic effect was expected for calcium because since it is a positive ion, adding

more calcium to the heart would hyperpolarize the cell membrane. The more the cell membrane

is hyperpolarized, the longer the refractory period. As a result, fewer action potentials would fire

and ultimately decrease the heart rate (Waters et al., 2020). Overall, the results for the inotropic

and chronotropic effects of calcium on the frog’s heart supported what was expected.

Since caffeine inhibits an enzyme on a cardiomyocyte that enables a stimulatory effect, it

was expected for caffeine to increase heart rate and the force of contractions (Waters et al.,

2020). This was proven to be true by the results of the experiment.

It was expected for acetylcholine to have negative inotropic and chronotropic effects

since it works with the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for slowing the

body down and allowing it to rest. Acetylcholine decreases calcium concentration in the

intracellular fluid which decreases actin-myosin cross bridges and results in less muscle

contraction (Waters et al., 2020). The data from the results support the expectation of negative

inotropic and chronotropic effects.

As the expectations of the effects of the drugs on the frog’s heart were all supported by

the results of the experiment, it is evident that the data is strong. However, multiple trials would

have made the data stronger by increasing the reliability of the experiment. To minimize error, I

would recommend performing several trials, waiting the exact same time between the injections

to control the experiment, and indicating in the results section if the time that the hearts took to

produce an effect.
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References

Defining the Effects of Drugs and Neurotransmitters on the Heart [Lecture Notes]. Canvas.

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2113784/pages/defining-the-effects-of-drugs-and-

neurotransmitters-on-the-heart?module_item_id=31101527

Creating a Hypothesis [Lecture Notes]. Canvas.

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2113784/pages/creating-a-hypothesis?

module_item_id=31101530