Take various measurements from the sensory spines and hairs of cockroaches for analysis.

The aim of this experiment is to learn how sensory neurons function to allow an animal to sense its environment. Students will use the common cockroach (Periplaneta spp.) animal model since cockroaches have a number of sensory organs that are similar to those found in humans. In this experiment, students will measure action potentials in the leg nerve with various stimuli applied to the sensory spines and hairs, stimulate several different spines to compare the size of the action potentials measured, stimulate a sensory spine to test weather the angle of deflection changes the size of the action potentials measured, and observe sensory nerve adaptation during prolonged stimulation.