MEASURING REACTION TIME

Measuring Reaction Time Aim To measure the effects of caffeine on reaction time using the stick drop test. Introduction Reaction time is the measure of how quickly an organism can respond to a particular stimulus. The stimulus is picked up by the nervous system of the body and an appropriate reaction is initiated to respond to the stimuli. The nervous system is composed of nerve tissues and its functions are to receive stimuli, channel stimuli to nervous centers, and to initiate response. The nervous system is made up of two parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and serves as the collection point of nerve impulses; the peripheral nervous system includes nerves that connect all parts of the body to the central nervous system. The human nervous system consists of billions of neurons that are able to respond to stimuli such as light, sound and touch, conduct impulses, and communicate with each other and with other types of cells. A neuron is typically made up of three parts: the cell body, axon and dendrites. The nucleus of a neuron is located in the cell body. Axons and dendrites vary in number and relative length but always serve to conduct impulses towards and away from the cell body. Caffeine is one of the drugs that can affect the functions of the nervous system. It is a stimulant for the central nervous system, and when consumed in moderate doses, caffeine can increase alertness, reduce fine motor coordination, cause insomnia and cause headaches, nervousness and dizziness. Caffeine can be extracted from the coffee bean, tea leaf, kola nut and cacao pod. Normally, caffeine is consumed through coffee, tea, chocolate, some soft drinks, and some drugs. Caffeine enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine and can have its effects as soon as 15 minutes after it is consumed. Once it enters the body, it takes about 6 hours for the caffeine to be reduced in half. In this experiment, reaction time is measured by the time taken for the subjects to catch the dropping ruler. Hypothesis Caffeine will decrease reaction time in non-frequent coffee drinkers.

MEASURING REACTION TIME

Materials 1. Metre rule Methods 1. A metre rule was held by the experimenter vertically at the zero end. The hands of the subject was placed by her side. 2. Without any warning, the ruler was dropped and was caught between the thumb and forefinger of the subject. The distance just above the forefinger was recorded. 3. Step 1 and 2 were repeated 15 minutes after the subject drank a cup of coffee. 4. The distance dropped was converted to the time taken to catch the ruler using the formula below: 2. Coffee (1% caffeine)

Where t = time in seconds s = distance dropped in metres g = 9.81 (acceleration due to gravity) Results Table 1: Distance dropped by the subject with and without caffeine Distance (m) Without caffeine Subjects Frequent coffee-drinker Moderate coffee-drinker Non-frequent coffee-drinker 0.40 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.38 0.33 0.33 0.43 0.37 0.49 0.49 0.33 0.35 0.37 0.36 0.20 0.40 0.37 0.30 0.26 T1 0.23 T2 0.23 T3 0.35 T4 0.34 T5 0.34 T1 0.38 With caffeine T2 0.28 T3 0.18 T4 0.49 T5 0.27

MEASURING REACTION TIME

Table 2: Time taken to catch the ruler without caffeine T1 Frequent coffee-drinker Moderate coffee-drinker Non-frequent coffee-drinker 0.22 0.32 0.29 T2 0.22 0.26 0.30 T3 0.27 0.27 0.30 T4 0.26 0.27 0.30 T5 0.26 0.27 0.28 Average 0.25 0.28 0.30

Table 3: Time taken to catch the ruler with caffeine T1 Frequent coffee-drinker Moderate coffee-drinker Non-frequent coffee-drinker 0.28 0.20 0.26 T2 0.24 0.29 0.26 T3 0.19 0.27 0.30 T4 0.32 0.25 0.27 T5 0.24 0.23 0.32 Average 0.25 0.25 0.28

Discussion According to the results, both the reaction times of the non-frequent and moderate coffee-drinker have decreased after drinking coffee. The caffeine molecule affects the nervous system by disrupting regular neurotransmission. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that is produced when cells use energy, and when it binds with an adenosine receptor, activity in nearby cells is slowed down. As the production of adenosine increases, brain activity decreases causing drowsiness. It also causes blood vessels to dilate in order to transfer more oxygen. To a nerve cell, caffeine molecules resemble adenosine, therefore when there is caffeine in the bloodstream, it can successfully bind to an adenosine receptor. However, caffeine does not give the same effect as adenosine. Instead of slowing down, cell activity speeds up because the cell can no longer identify adenosine as the receptors are occupied by the caffeine molecules (Brain, Bryant, & Cunningham, April 1, 2000). When cell activity speeds up, the pituitary gland senses the increase in activity and assumes that the body is in an emergency situation; therefore it releases hormones that signal the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline. Adrenaline is responsible for speeding up the heart rate and increasing anxiety as it prepares the body for "fight-or-flight" situations (Helmenstine, n.d.).

MEASURING REACTION TIME

By disrupting the regular neurotransmission of these two neurotransmitters, caffeine is able to decrease reaction time by making the body more sensitive to stimuli. However, continue exposure to caffeine leads to developing a tolerance for it. Since caffeine affects the neurotransmission of adenosine by binding to the adenosine receptors, the body adapts to the continuous presence of caffeine by increasing the number of adenosine receptors substantially. The increase in adenosine receptors reduces the stimulatory effects of caffeine and makes the body more sensitive to adenosine. This explains why the reaction time of the frequent coffee-drinker does not change with or without coffee. The reaction time of the non-frequent coffee-drinker did not decrease as significantly as expected because she consumes caffeine in the form of tea. Although she does not drink coffee, the caffeine found in tea is enough to produce a level of tolerance in her body. Conclusion Caffeine does decrease reaction time in both the non-frequent and moderate coffee-drinker. However, caffeine does not change the reaction time of the frequent coffee-drinker. Reference Brain, M., Bryant, C. W., Cunningham, M. (2000, April 1). How caffeine works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm Chudler, E.H. (n.d.). Caffeine. Retrieved from http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/caff.html Helmenstine, A. M. (n.d.). Caffeine chemistry. Retrieved from http://chemistry.about.com/od/moleculescompounds/a/caffeine.htm Ritchison, G. (n.d.) Neurons and the nervous system. Retrieved from http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/301notes2.htm