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Reflexes and reaction times

Reaction times are how long it takes for the muscles to
respond from the start of a stimulus. In sprint races, reaction
times can determine who wins the race.

In 1991, Leroy Burrell beat team mate Carl Lewiss world

record for the 100 m sprint. But who was quickest?
Runner

Sprint time (s)

Carl Lewis

9.764

Leroy Burrell

9.783

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Why did Burrell win

the race?

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On the starting blocks

To understand you need to know the reaction time of each
runner. Sprint races are timed from the moment the starters
gun is fired. The actual gun is normally silent the bang
comes from speakers behind the starting blocks.
This prevents the runner located
furthest from the starter from
hearing the start signal last.
Pressure sensors in the starting
blocks record when a sprinter
sets off.

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Pressure-time graph

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Gaining the advantage

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Fairer races
How can pressure-time graphs identify false-starts?

pressure

Scientists have found that it is physically impossible to react

in less than 0.1 seconds. If a runners reaction time is less
than 0.1 seconds then they must have deliberately started
before the signal was heard.

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

time (sec)
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Is there a correlation?

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The importance of fast reactions

Fast reactions can help you to avoid accidents. For example,
at 30 mph a car can travel 9 m before the driver is able to
respond to the hazard and start braking.

What kind of factors slow down reaction times?

tiredness
alcohol
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drugs
old
age
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Detecting external stimuli

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How fast are electrical signals?

The brain can respond to touch, smell or taste stimuli in just
0.1 seconds, but sound and vision take longer.
Nerve impulses
travel at up to
320 mph and
take just
0.02 seconds
to reach the
brain.

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Interpreting signals
How can you find your reaction time?
1. Extend your arm over the edge of a table
and have a partner hold a ruler between
your fingers at the 0 cm mark.
2. The partner drops the ruler catch it
between your fingers and thumb as
quickly as possible.
3. Repeat the test 10 times, recording the
results and calculate the mean (average)
distance. Then convert the distance into a
reaction time.

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Common reflexes
What types of reflexes do you know?

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What are reflexes?

Reflexes are fast, automatic protective
biological control systems that link a
stimulus to a response.
Reflex reactions happen without you
having to think about them they are
involuntary. This is because the
central nervous system (CNS) sends
electrical signals to the muscles before
the brain can pick up the message.
Many reflexes such as sneezing and focusing
your eyes occur naturally, but other reflexes
can be learned, i.e. conditioned responses.
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What is the central nervous system?

The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain
and spinal cord.
cerebral
hemisphere

cerebellum
brainstem
outer view
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spinal cord

cross-section
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The brain and movement

The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain and
controls voluntary movements. Voluntary movements take
longer than reflex movements because electrical impulses
have further to travel.
cerebral cortex initiates actions
cerebellum fine tunes muscle control
brainstem co-ordinates reflexes
Trained sports people seem to move faster than the brain
can respond. They do this by anticipating what will happen
instead of waiting for a message from their senses.
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What can go wrong?

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What are neurones?

Neurones are specialized cells that conduct
electrical impulses through the body.
A nerve is a bundle of many nerve
fibres enclosed within a protective
sheath. Nerve fibres are the long
axons of neurones together with
any associated tissues.
nerve

nerve fibre

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What do neurones look like?

Neurones are elongated cells consisting of a cell body and
long, thin axon.
dendrites
myelin
sheath
cell
body

axon

Thin projections called dendrites extend from the cell body

and connect with other neurones, allowing electrical impulses
to pass from one to the other.
The axons of most neurones are wrapped in an insulating
lipid layer called the myelin sheath. Why is this important?
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What are sensory neurones?

Sensory neurones transmit messages from sense
receptors, such as the eye or nose, to the brain or spinal
cord.
cell body

nerve impulse
from sense organ

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nerve impulse
to CNS

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What are motor neurones?

Motor neurones transmit messages from the brain and
spinal cord to the muscles and glands.

cell body

muscle
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A reflex arc

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What is a synapse?
A synapse is a junction between two neurones across
which electrical signals pass. The human body contains up
to 500 trillion synapses.
presynaptic
cell

postsynaptic
cell

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The release of neurotransmitters

When a nerve impulse arrives at the end of one neurone it
triggers the release of neurotransmitter molecules from
synaptic vesicles.
synaptic
vesicle

neurotransmitter
molecules

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Continuing the impulse

The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and
bind with receptors on the next neurone, triggering another
impulse.

synaptic
cleft
nerve
impulse
receptor

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The sequence of a reflex arc

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True or false?

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The iris reflex

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Inside the eye

cornea
protects eye surface and
focuses light rays
suspensory ligaments
hold lens in place

retina
senses light

lens
focuses light
on retina
iris
regulates amount
of light entering eye
ciliary muscles
change shape of the lens
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optic nerve
transmits impulses to
the brain
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What is binocular vision?

Animals with binocular vision have eyes close together.
This provides an overlapping field of view and enhanced
depth perception.
Predators tend to have binocular vision because they need
to judge distances and anticipate the movement of prey.
no field
of vision

monocular
field of
vision

binocular
field of
vision
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What is monocular vision?

Animals with monocular vision have eyes spaced apart,
providing a very wide field of view.
Prey animals tend to
no
have monocular vision
field of
because they need to
vision
see predators
approaching from any
monocular
direction.
field of
vision
Animals like the
horse have a
binocular
combination of
field of
monocular and
vision
binocular vision.
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Accommodation

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Correcting sight

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What is colour blindness?

Colour blindness (dichromatism) means that a person has
difficulty distinguishing between red and green.
Colour blindness is caused by a lack of receptors in the retina
and affects about 7% of men and 1% of women.
What can you see in the circle?
If you have normal vision
you can see an eye in the
image. If you are colour
blind you can only see
either red or orange
spots.
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Parts of the eye

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Glossary (1/2)
accommodation The reflex reaction that keeps the
lens the right shape to focus light on the retina.

CNS The central nervous system, consisting of the brain

and spinal cord.

iris The part of the eye that limits the amount of light
entering the eye.

lens The part of the eye that focuses light on the retina.
motor neurone A neurone that carries electrical
impulses from the CNS to muscles and glands.

neurone A specialized cell that carries electrical

impulses.
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Glossary (2/2)
neurotransmitter A chemical that diffuses across
synapses to continue an impulse in a connecting neurone.

reaction time The time taken to respond to a stimulus.

reflex A fast, automatic protective response.
retina The part of the eye that contains light receptors.
sensory neurone A neurone that carries electrical
impulses from sense organs to the CNS.

synapse The gap between two connecting neurones.

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Anagrams

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Multiple-choice quiz

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