How Fast Does Your Brian React to Stimuli?

Reaction time is a measure of how quickly someone can respond to a

particular stimulus. Reaction time has been widely studied and many factors
have been shown to affect reaction times, including age, gender,
physical fitness, fatigue, distraction, alcohol, personality type, and whether the
stimulus is auditory or visual.

The flow of information is

Stimulus … Sensory Neuron…  Spinal Cord or Brain… Motor Neuron…  
Response

We are going to be doing three different tests to test how fast your brain
reacts to a stimuli. Visual, auditory and tactile.

Visual Test
1. Subject one dangles dominant hand off the edge of a table.
2. Subject two holds a 30 centimeter (12-inch) ruler between two fingers at
the 30 cm mark, having the 0 mark touching subject one’s index finger.
3. Subject two tells subject one to grab the ruler as fast as possible, when they
SEE it being released.
4. Record the centimeter measurement.
5. Repeat this three times, for a total of four measurements

Test 1	14cm
Test 2	14cm
Test 3	5cm
Test 4	1cm

Auditory Test
1. Subject one is blindfolded before dangling dominant hand off the edge of a table.
2. Subject two holds a 30 centimeter (12-inch) ruler between two fingers at the 30 cm
mark, having the 0 mark touching subject one’s index finger.
3. Subject two tells subject one to grab the ruler as fast as possible, when they HEAR
the word “release” being said.
4. Subject two simultaneously says “release” and lets go of the ruler. Record the centimeter
measurement.
5. Repeat this three times, for a total of four measurements

Test 1	n/a
Test 2	n/a
Test 3	1cm
Test 4	25cm

Tactile Test
1. Subject one is blindfolded before dangling dominant hand off the edge of a
table.
2. Subject two holds a 30 centimeter (12-inch) ruler between two fingers at the
30 cm mark, having the 0 mark touching subject one’s index finger.
3. Subject two tells subject one to grab the ruler as fast as possible, when they
FEEL their non-dominant shoulder being touched.
4. Subject two simultaneously touches the shoulder and lets go of the ruler.
Record the centimeter measurement.
5. Repeat this three times, for a total of four measurements

Test 1	1cm
Test 2	n/a
Test 3	16cm
Test 4	23cm

Do you think one’s reaction time can be improved?

-Yes reaction time can be improved. Reaction time can be quicker when you
are in competitive situations like in sports. You can also train your brain to have
a faster reaction time in specific areas of interest.

Did your reaction times improve in the tests you performed?

-Yes, Julias reaction times improved especially on the visual one. Her brain
started to comprehend the concept of what was being done and was able to
catch the ruler quicker.

Do you think reaction time is more heavily influenced by genetics or the
environment?

-More influenced by the environment, because like I said, reaction time can
be improved or taught.

Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiQl43fJeg&feature=youtu.be