How Does Age Affect Reaction Time?
Jared Choy
Mr. Dahlhausen
Period 6
17 November 2014
Does Age affect Reaction Time?
When a person sees a health care provider and the doctor hits the person’s knee with a rubber mallet, the person’s leg kicks up on its own. This happens because when the doctor hits your kneecap, the tendon under it gets stretched, which in turn will send a signal to an awaiting motor neuron so it can command the muscle to contract. Let’s take for example the reflex arc. A reflex is the involuntary movement of the body in response to a stimulus such as pain. The nerve impulses move so quickly that the person being affect doesn’t think about it, he just does it. Skin has a lot of sensory receptors, and when they are stimulated, the impulses are carried to the central nervous system. There the neuron may form a synapse with other interneuron or it may pass it on to other interneurons. What happens will depends on the particular body part stimulated and the stimulus. The interneuron then …show more content…
The corpus callosum can act either as a dam or a bridge between the two hemispheres in the brain. The bridge action of the corpus callosum is most important in actions that require both hemispheres. When the motor skills of one hemisphere is needed, the corpus callosum then acts as a dam to concentrate on only one side of the brain. But as we age the dam effect begins to breakdown and two motor functions are used instead when the brain only needed one. This may not be helpful for the brain when it performs tasks that require only one part of the brain. Since the opposite side of the brain controls body movement, it may cause confusion and slower reaction time because the two hemispheres of the brain will be talking to each other at the same time. It is true though that reaction time and reflexes do slow down with age. But the effects of it varies greatly from person to person. You can slow down the effects of aging by staying physically
Mr. Dahlhausen
Period 6
17 November 2014
Does Age affect Reaction Time?
When a person sees a health care provider and the doctor hits the person’s knee with a rubber mallet, the person’s leg kicks up on its own. This happens because when the doctor hits your kneecap, the tendon under it gets stretched, which in turn will send a signal to an awaiting motor neuron so it can command the muscle to contract. Let’s take for example the reflex arc. A reflex is the involuntary movement of the body in response to a stimulus such as pain. The nerve impulses move so quickly that the person being affect doesn’t think about it, he just does it. Skin has a lot of sensory receptors, and when they are stimulated, the impulses are carried to the central nervous system. There the neuron may form a synapse with other interneuron or it may pass it on to other interneurons. What happens will depends on the particular body part stimulated and the stimulus. The interneuron then …show more content…
The corpus callosum can act either as a dam or a bridge between the two hemispheres in the brain. The bridge action of the corpus callosum is most important in actions that require both hemispheres. When the motor skills of one hemisphere is needed, the corpus callosum then acts as a dam to concentrate on only one side of the brain. But as we age the dam effect begins to breakdown and two motor functions are used instead when the brain only needed one. This may not be helpful for the brain when it performs tasks that require only one part of the brain. Since the opposite side of the brain controls body movement, it may cause confusion and slower reaction time because the two hemispheres of the brain will be talking to each other at the same time. It is true though that reaction time and reflexes do slow down with age. But the effects of it varies greatly from person to person. You can slow down the effects of aging by staying physically