Experiment Seven: Spike Referencing

Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points (like your hair and the comb)….

and like the difference between electrical environment around recording electrode and reference electrode

Differential recordings: voltage = difference between recording and ground electrode.

If “perfect ground”, voltage = potential at recording electrode.

However…

In biology, there is no such thing as the perfect ground!

http://tinyurl.com/7qcz5ks http://tinyurl.com/73lwcbu

Everywhere in your body there’s an electrical signal of some sort, so care must be taken choosing your ground to minimize this.

Procedure: put recording electrode in femur and ground electrode in coxa

When you touch the barbs on the leg, make note of the level of “background activity” vs. individual spikes.

Procedure: Move ground electrode from coxa to the femur

When you touch the barbs on the leg, is there a difference in the ratio of “background activity” vs. individual spikes?

Procedure: Move both electrodes to coxa

What do you notice this time?