The brain is a unique organ of the human body, it's interaction with the muscles has been an enigma for man-kind. However after millenniums of wondering this connection is slowly being revealed. Involuntarily Smarter? is a experiment that explores the amazing connection between the fields of myology anf neurology. The purpose of the project is to test whether the accuracy and time of data proccessed in the brain differs when a person controls their voluntary actions compared to when they do not control their voluntary actions. The hypothesis for the experimentation is that when people do control their voluntary actions then they have a faster and more accurate analysis on data compared to when they do not control their voluntary actions.
The process for experimentation started when the human subjects were split into a control group and the group being tested also known as the group the chew bubblegum and squeezes a tennis ball. One by one each human subject in the control group is asked to come in. Then the experimenter will basically read off one line of either five or seven words/numbers/letters. The human subject basically repeats what the human subject said, and the experimenter takes note of how many letters/numbers/words the human subject got correct in that line and the time it took (seconds) for them to get that many correct. That process continues for six lines or tests as they are called. Then the human subjects from the other group are called in one by one. Each human subject is given one piece of gum and are told to chew it non-stop and a tennis ball that they must squeeze continuously. Then they are to repeat whatever lines the experimenter tells them to and once again he repeats those six tests and notes down how many they get right and the time it took (seconds) for them to get that right.
The results from the experiment were arranged into averages of each test for each group. So it was easy to compare the following: the average amount of words/letters/numbers each group got right for each test, the average amount of time it took each group to get the amount of words/letters/numbers right again for each test and the amount of words/letters/numbers per second each group could achieve. In the results the group that controlled their voluntary actions took less time to get more right then the group that didn't control their voluntary actions. Then the amount of words/letters/numbers right per second was higher for the group that did control their voluntary actions compared to the group that did not control their voluntary actions. Thus, it can be seen that the hypothesis was correct in this experiment.
Problem
Does the accuracy and time of data processed in the brain differ when a person controls their voluntary actions compared to when they do not control their voluntary actions?
Hypothesis
If a person controls their voluntary actions, then they will be able to process data quicker and more accurately then when they do not control their voluntary actions.
Research
Part of the Scientific method is research, the scientific method is the method many educated scientist around the world use to solve their scientific problem. As this problem is also scientific the method was used thus research had to be done. The problem being tested is whether people can process data quicker and more accurately when they control their voluntary actions compared to when they do not control their voluntary actions. So the research done for this experiment dealt with two major fields of scientific study: neurology and myology. Neurology is the study of the brain and myology is the study of the muscles. However one must go further into both fields to understand the science behind the problem.
Neurology is a major subject however the information can be narrowed down to fit the problem dealing with this experiment. In this experiment three brain structures and five brain substructures are involved. The three structures are the Brain stem, the Cerebrum, and Diencephalon. Within these structures there are five sub-structures that are linked to this project. In the Brain stem there are the pons and the mid brain both control the link between the brain and the body. The Diencephalon has the Thalamus which sends instruction from the brain to the muscles of the body. Last but not least in the Cerebrum there is the the Cerebral Hemispheres and Basal Ganglia, the Cerebral Hemispheres controls thinking, memory, learning, intelligence and hearing. On the other hand the Basal Ganglia controls the connection between the brain and the voluntary muscles.
In the field of myology one must go further to learn about voluntary muscles, muscles which are consciously controlled through pathways in the nervous system. The process occurs when the the muscle fibers are called into action by the release of a transmitter from a single axon of a motor in the spinal cord; the point at which the nerve terminals meet the muscle fibers are specialized synapses and can be further known as the neuromuscular junction. The neuromuscular junction then bonds all te fibers into one motor unit. This unit is what enables one to use their voluntary actions.
Neurology is a major subject however the information can be narrowed down to fit the problem dealing with this experiment. In this experiment three brain structures and five brain substructures are involved. The three structures are the Brain stem, the Cerebrum, and Diencephalon. Within these structures there are five sub-structures that are linked to this project. In the Brain stem there are the pons and the mid brain both control the link between the brain and the body. The Diencephalon has the Thalamus which sends instruction from the brain to the muscles of the body. Last but not least in the Cerebrum there is the the Cerebral Hemispheres and Basal Ganglia, the Cerebral Hemispheres controls thinking, memory, learning, intelligence and hearing. On the other hand the Basal Ganglia controls the connection between the brain and the voluntary muscles.
In the field of myology one must go further to learn about voluntary muscles, muscles which are consciously controlled through pathways in the nervous system. The process occurs when the the muscle fibers are called into action by the release of a transmitter from a single axon of a motor in the spinal cord; the point at which the nerve terminals meet the muscle fibers are specialized synapses and can be further known as the neuromuscular junction. The neuromuscular junction then bonds all te fibers into one motor unit. This unit is what enables one to use their voluntary actions.
Bibliography
Capra, F. (1996). The Web of Life. New York: Doubleday
Check, W. A. (1990). The Mind-Body Connection. Chelsea House Publishers.
Hine, R. "brain." The Facts On File Dictionary of Biology, Fourth Edition. New York: Facts on
File, Inc., 2005. Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.foweb.com/activelink2.asp
ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=FDBFO387&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 7, 2009)
"Brain Function (Human)." Human Physiology on File, New Edition. Copyright Diagram Visual Information Ltd., 2003. Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/active
link2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=HP114&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 7, 2007)
(2001), The Oxford Companion to the Body. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
(2007). Mind-Body Interactions, The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 4, 90
Check, W. A. (1990). The Mind-Body Connection. Chelsea House Publishers.
Hine, R. "brain." The Facts On File Dictionary of Biology, Fourth Edition. New York: Facts on
File, Inc., 2005. Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.foweb.com/activelink2.asp
ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=FDBFO387&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 7, 2009)
"Brain Function (Human)." Human Physiology on File, New Edition. Copyright Diagram Visual Information Ltd., 2003. Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/active
link2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin=HP114&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 7, 2007)
(2001), The Oxford Companion to the Body. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
(2007). Mind-Body Interactions, The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 4, 90
Observations
The data that was taken out of the experiment was pretty self-explanatory in terms that no data was misleading. To review the overall analysis of the data go down to "Conclusions". However there are parts that should be claimed as observation for they may be misleading or "out of the blue" data. One example is in the graphs one can see that there are parts where the data cancels each other out. For example in test five the time (seconds) was same for both groups thus no conclusion comparing them could be reached. There was one other misleading part in the data. At this point which can be found when the average amount of numbers correct in test two was greater for the group that did not control their voluntary actions compared to the group that did control their voluntary actions. Thus, the information basically contradicts itself.
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