Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Jerk
Reflex (Patellar Reflex)
The knee jerk reflex is one that you may have had tested at a check up at the doctor's
office. In this test, the doctor hits your knee at a spot just below your knee cap and your
leg kicks out. Try it! Have a partner sit with his or her legs crossed so that his leg can
swing freely. Hit his leg just below the knee with the side of your hand. DO NOT USE A
HAMMER!!!! The leg will kick out immediately (if you hit the right place).
The knee jerk reflex (seen in the figure to the right) is called a monosynaptic reflex
because there is only one synapse in the circuit needed to complete the reflex. It only
takes about 50 milliseconds between the tap and the start of the leg kick. That is fast! The
tap below the knee causes the thigh muscle to stretch. Information is then sent to the
spinal cord. After one synapse in the ventral horn of the spinal cord, the information is
sent back out to the muscle...and there you have the reflex.
Materials
Reflex reference
Here is a table to convert the distance on the ruler to reaction time. For example, if you
caught the ruler at the 8 inch mark, then your reaction time is equal to 0.20 seconds (200
ms). Remember that there are 1,000 milliseconds (ms) in 1 second.
Distance
Time
2 in (~5 cm)
4 in (~10 cm)
6 in (~15 cm)
8 in (~20 cm)
24 in (~61 cm)
31 in (~79 cm)
39 in (~99 cm)
48 in (~123 cm)
69 in (~175 cm)
If you want to be more precise with your calculations, use the following formulas:
Formula 1
Formula 2
Reflex reference
This reaction time experiment required visual information (the movement of the ruler) to
travel to your brain. Then your brain sent a motor command ("grab that falling ruler") to
the muscles of your arm and hand. If all went well, you caught the ruler!!
1. Ankle Jerk Reflex - tests the medial popliteal nerve
a. Have the Subject stand on one leg alongside a chair, with the other leg bent at
the knee and its shin resting on the seat of the chair. The foot should project over
the edge of the chair.
b. Connect the SS2L leads to the calf (as seen in the picture above).
Lead Color
Signal
Position
Red
(+)
closest to knee
White
(-)
middle of calf
Black
(ground)
inside of ankle
Reflex reference
a. Move the SS2L leads to the knee reflex electrodes (as seen in picture
above).
Lead Color
Signal
Position
Red
(+)
middle electrode
White
(-)
closest to waist
Black
(ground)
on the knee
b. Have the Subject sit with his or her legs hanging freely over the edge of
the chair.
d. Before you continue recording, find the optimal spot on the subject's
knee that will cause a good reflex and mark the spot.
e. Click on the "Start" button to resume recording.
f.
Strike the patellar ligament and observe the resulting reflex contraction.
g. Repeat 10 times and note reaction times and amplitudes in lab report.
Note: In order to get an accurate goniometer reading, it is crucial that the
leg come to a resting position between strikes.
h. Click on the "Stop" button to suspend recording.
Reflex reference
3. If you are certain as to the precise location of the tendon, strike this area directly
with your hammer. If the target is not clearly apparent or the tendon is surrounded
by an excessive amount of subcutaneous fat (which might dissipate the force of
your strike), place your index or middle finger firmly against the structure. Then
strike your finger.
4. Make sure that the triceps is uncovered, so that you can observe the response. The
normal reflex will cause the lower arm to extend at the elbow and swing away
from the body. If the patients hands are on their hips, the arm will not move but
the muscle should shorten vigorously .
Reflex reference