In this Issue

- Visual Reflexes and
  Color Stimulation
  Experiment
- Tech Note:  BCL-100
  Bicolor Light Source
- Download LabScribe2
  Settings File for
  New Experiment
- Free Upgrade to
  LabScribe2 Software
- Web Resources:
  Links to eye, vision, and
  light information

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The iWorx newsletter is a FREE monthly publication dedicated to sharing teaching laboratory techniques and other useful information with educators in the fields of Anatomy and Physiology. We will also be sending you technical information and info on new developments at iWorx that we feel may be of use to you in your teaching and research activities.

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July 2007

Experiment:  Visual Reflexes and Color Stimulation

Of the five senses, vision is the one that humans rely upon the most.  The images and colors that a person perceives are created by the complex interaction of the many different parts of the eye and brain.  Information about images and colors are propagated from the photoreceptors (rods and cones) on the retina of the eye, through the optic nerve, and then to the brain at speeds that make the images and colors blend together seamlessly.  With its ability to detect color, motion, contrast and quality, the eye is one of the most efficient sense organs in the human body.

In this experiment, students will perform experiments to test whether their eyes react faster to stimuli of different colors, whether eyes can become habituated to a specific color, whether there is a difference in the latency of responses to stimuli of different colors, and whether there is an additional increase in the latency of responses when the subjects have to “think” before reacting.  Specific color visual cues will be delivered to the subjects using the BCL-100 bicolor light source; the reactions times of the subject will be indicated by using the enter key on the keyboard.  Students will be asked to determine the reasons subjects might have a quicker reaction time to one color versus another.  The experiment can be expanded to include working in a darkened environment to see if the amount of ambient light has any effect on how the eye enables us to react to different colors.

Tech Note:  The BCL-100 Bicolor Light Source

The BCL-100 is a two color LED light source that can provide visual cues of two different colors during tests of visual reflexes in human subjects.  The BCL-100 is useful in determining reaction times to light cues of different wavelengths.  The device is also useful in determining if reaction times change when subjects are presented with light cues of a different wavelength after the subjects have been habituated to light cues of a familiar color.  The intensity, duration, frequency, and color of the light emitted by the BCL-100 can be controlled by the stimulus output of an iWorx 214 or an iWorx 118 Data Recorder.

To learn more about the BCL-100 Bicolor Light Source, click here to view a Tech Note.

Download the updated settings file for this month's experiment with LabScribe2 Software.

If you plan to use the Visual Reflexes and Color Stimulation experiment in your course, iWorx users can obtain a copy of the settings file used to configure the LabScribe2 recording software to do this experiment by clicking here.

To learn how to create your own groups of settings files for use with LabScribe2, click here. The new Settings Manager in LabScribe2 permits numerous pieces of support material to be linked to a settings file and opened automatically when a settings file is selected from the Settings menu. In LabScribe2, animations, illustrations, movies, websites, experimental write-ups, and more can be opened automatically when a settings file is opened.
 

Free Upgrade to LabScribe2 Software

As always, iWorx software upgrades are free.  The iWorx license agreement also permits the software to be copied and distributed to other computers.  This enables students to record data in the lab and work on analysis and lab reports at their convenience.   Learn more about LabScribe2 software here.

If you are a registered iWorx customers, you can upgrade to LabScribe2 software in the iWorx Users Area.  Or go here to register for access to the Users Area and upgrade your software.

iWorx users can download a pdf version of the LabScribe2 manual  here.

Learn more about eye, vision, and light by going to the external Web resources page.

On this page we have also accumulated a host of links to informative, external physiology Web sites and conveniently categorized them into major subcategories for easy reference.