Embedded Files
Chapter 12
Nervous Tissue
Topic of lesson
Neural Integration
Learning objectives
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to
- explain how a neuron “decides” whether or not to generate action potentials;
- explain how the nervous system translates complex information into a simple code.
Pre-assignment
Watch the videos: EPSP & IPSP and What is Summation (2 Types) to review what they learned about threshold and preview for neural Integration.
Activity
- Quickly review what we learned about synapses using True or False questions.
- Teacher explains that when they are answering the questions, it is estimated to have 100 trillion synapses. Imagine trying to count them, two synapses per second, it would take you 1.6 million years.
- Students brainstorm how neurons make decisions on whether the information is important or not.
- Teacher shows a cup of violet water with litmus added. The dropper with acid represents excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) while the dropper with alkaline represents inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP).
- Students are invited to the front to add acid or alkaline to the cup of water. When the water turned red is when the postsynaptic neuron fires.
- Summation is the process of adding up postsynaptic potentials and responding to their net effect. It occurs in the trigger zone.
- Teacher uses PPT to introduce "temporal summation" and "spatial summation", and students draw diagrams on their notebooks.
- A weak stimulus excites sensitive neurons with the lowest thresholds, while a strong stimulus excites less sensitive high-threshold neurons. Bringing additional neurons into play as the stimulus becomes stronger is called "recruitment".
- Each students are given a certain number represents his or her individual threshold. Teacher and students take turns to give a summation number and all the student with threshold lower than the number should raise up a red card indicating fire. Play several rounds and record how many fires happen each round.
Resources
- Science notebook, red cards
- Cup, droppers, water, litmus, acid, alkaline
Alignment with NGSS
Disciplinary Core Ideas
- LS1.A: Structure and Function
- Within cells, special structures are responsible for particular functions, and the cell membrane forms the boundary that controls what enters and leaves the cell. (MS-LS1-2)
- In multicellular organisms, the body is a system of multiple interacting subsystems. These subsystems are groups of cells that work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions. (MS-LS1-3)
- LS1.D: Information Processing
- Each sense receptor responds to different inputs (electromagnetic, mechanical, chemical), transmitting them as signals that travel along nerve cells to the brain. The signals are then processed in the brain, resulting in immediate behaviors or memories. (MS-LS1-8)
Science and Engineering Practices
- Developing and Using Models
- Develop and use a model to describe phenomena. (MS-LS1-2)
- Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms. (MS-LS1-7)
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
- Conduct an investigation to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of an investigation. (MS-LS1-1)
Crosscutting Concepts
- Cause and Effect
- Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural systems. (MS-LS1-8)
- Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
- Phenomena that can be observed at one scale may not be observable at another scale. (MS-LS1-1)
- Structure and Function
- Complex and microscopic structures and systems can be visualized, modeled, and used to describe how their function depends on the relationships among its parts, therefore complex natural structures/systems can be analyzed to determine how they function. (MS-LS1-2)
Google Sites
Report abuse