Name:
MUSCLE LAB
Anatomy and Physiology
STATION
1
1. PROPRIOCEPTION
Even with your eyes closed, we have a sense of body position- where are arms and legs are, for example, and that we are moving
them. Muscles, tendons, joints and the inner ear contain proprioceptors, also known as stretch receptors, which relay positional
information to our brains. Our brains then analyze this information and provide us with a sense ofbody orientation and movement.
For these two activities, you & your partner will take turns. Person 1 will read and explain the procedure to person 2 andthen you will
switch off.
Activity 1: Finding Fingertips
Close your eyes and raise both hands above your head. Keep the fingers of your left hand totally still (no wiggling!). With your right
hand, quickly touch your index fingertip to your nose, then quickly bring that fingertip back up and touch your leftthumb. Quickly
repeat this process (nose, finger, nose, finger, etc.) while attempting to touch each of the fingers on your left hand in succession.
After you have touched all five fingers of your left hand with your right index fingertip, switch hands and try again.
Now that you completed this activity with both hands, repeat the whole process but this time, wiggle the fingers that stayin the air
while your other hand goes from your nose to each finger and back to your nose.
How successfully did you find each fingertip?
Was there a difference when different hands were used?
Was there a difference when you “wiggled” the fingers in the air?
Activity 2: X marks the Spot
Mark an “X” on a piece of paper. Keep the paper on the desk in front of you. Pencil in hand, raise your hand above your head, close
your eyes and make a dot as near as possible to the “X.” Open you eyes and check your success. Raise yourhand above your head,
close your eyes, and attempt to make a dot closer to the “X.” Do this several times. Repeat with your eyes open.
What did you observe through this process?
Activity 3: Handwriting Analysis
On a sheet of lined paper, write the word “muscle.” Place your pencil on the same line next to the written word, close your eyes, and
write “muscle” again.
What difference, if any, do you see between the two words?
What’s Going On?
You are using proprioceptors in your muscles, tendons and joints to judge your body position in all of these activities. Since most of
us are highly dependent on visual cues for judging distance, position, etc. proprioception is not enough to give us the fine detail of
position, such as needed to complete these activities accurately. Wiggling your fingertips in the first activity provides additional
information to your brain which helps us correctly locate our fingers in space. You may notice that with repeated trails one can learn
to complete the activities more successfully, and visual cues, such as lookingat the position of the “X” between trials, helps us to
adjust our movements to complete the task. Most people find that vision is not an important cue in reproducing written words,
because we are used to the “feel” of writing provided by proprioceptors in our hands and fingers.
MUSCLE LAB
Anatomy and Physiology
STATION
1
1. PROPRIOCEPTION
Even with your eyes closed, we have a sense of body position- where are arms and legs are, for example, and that we are moving
them. Muscles, tendons, joints and the inner ear contain proprioceptors, also known as stretch receptors, which relay positional
information to our brains. Our brains then analyze this information and provide us with a sense ofbody orientation and movement.
For these two activities, you & your partner will take turns. Person 1 will read and explain the procedure to person 2 andthen you will
switch off.
Activity 1: Finding Fingertips
Close your eyes and raise both hands above your head. Keep the fingers of your left hand totally still (no wiggling!). With your right
hand, quickly touch your index fingertip to your nose, then quickly bring that fingertip back up and touch your leftthumb. Quickly
repeat this process (nose, finger, nose, finger, etc.) while attempting to touch each of the fingers on your left hand in succession.
After you have touched all five fingers of your left hand with your right index fingertip, switch hands and try again.
Now that you completed this activity with both hands, repeat the whole process but this time, wiggle the fingers that stayin the air
while your other hand goes from your nose to each finger and back to your nose.
How successfully did you find each fingertip?
Was there a difference when different hands were used?
Was there a difference when you “wiggled” the fingers in the air?
Activity 2: X marks the Spot
Mark an “X” on a piece of paper. Keep the paper on the desk in front of you. Pencil in hand, raise your hand above your head, close
your eyes and make a dot as near as possible to the “X.” Open you eyes and check your success. Raise yourhand above your head,
close your eyes, and attempt to make a dot closer to the “X.” Do this several times. Repeat with your eyes open.
What did you observe through this process?
Activity 3: Handwriting Analysis
On a sheet of lined paper, write the word “muscle.” Place your pencil on the same line next to the written word, close your eyes, and
write “muscle” again.
What difference, if any, do you see between the two words?
What’s Going On?
You are using proprioceptors in your muscles, tendons and joints to judge your body position in all of these activities. Since most of
us are highly dependent on visual cues for judging distance, position, etc. proprioception is not enough to give us the fine detail of
position, such as needed to complete these activities accurately. Wiggling your fingertips in the first activity provides additional
information to your brain which helps us correctly locate our fingers in space. You may notice that with repeated trails one can learn
to complete the activities more successfully, and visual cues, such as lookingat the position of the “X” between trials, helps us to
adjust our movements to complete the task. Most people find that vision is not an important cue in reproducing written words,
because we are used to the “feel” of writing provided by proprioceptors in our hands and fingers.
