Biological Sciences 330/331, Smith College | Neurophysiology Checklist for Lab 1: Using the Oscilloscope http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/NeuroSci/courses/bio330/labs/labcheck1.html
	UPDATED: January 26, 2009
Where are the lab handouts?	The lab instructions are on the Web. They contain pop-up illustrations, videos, and color photos that do not lend themselves to black & white printing. You should prepare for lab by reading the Web-based material at home or at a computer center. In lab, you will have a computer at your set-up where you can display the detailed instructions as you work. The URL for the list of labs, with links to individual lab instructions, is: http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/NeuroSci/courses/bio330/labs.html Checklists will be distributed in class each week. They are also linked from the related lab if you would like to look ahead or print them yourself.
Preparing for lab	Ordinarily, you will be expected to read the lab instructions thoroughly IN ADVANCE, before coming to lab. You should look carefully at the videos, because they will show you the procedures and save you considerable amounts of time as you do the lab. If you prepare properly, you will always know what you are looking for in a dissection and how to conduct the experiment. We will not have lab "lectures" at the start of lab -- there may be a few minutes for questions and special advice, but no more than that. The goal is to get started, do the work, plot and post your data, and go home. Because the first lab is on the same day as the first class, the first lab will be an exception. There will be a lengthy tour of the oscilloscope's many controls, and the Web instructions will serve as a review. Look at them after the lab. (People in the Wednesday lab are invited to preview the Web pages before lab, always a better approach.)
Checklist for lab 1	In this week's lab, we will learn about the various controls on the oscilloscope and use them to display some prerecorded audio signals and recordings of neural activity. Here is the agenda: A Brief History of Oscilloscopes Overview of our Rigol Digital Oscilloscopes Looking at a real signal The Big Three: Vertical, Horizontal and Trigger Settings Menu for Channel 1 (vertical settings) Selecting the input coupling for a channel: AC or DC? Display Menu: Dots vs. Vectors Trigger controls Trigger menus Triggering on a sinewave Cursors for measurements Triggering from recorded neural activity Acquire Menu: Normal and Peak Detect Display Menu: Persistence of the trace
Are there lab reports?	Except for a project abstract and a poster at the end of the semester, there are no lab reports. You are expected to spend equivalent time preparing for the next lab instead of reconstructing the previous one. Neurophysiology is an opportunistic discipline, where things may happen that you don't expect or a preparation may deteriorate if you take too long. You need to work expeditiously, with full awareness of what you are trying to do and what is likely to happen. However, it is still important to analyze your data and share it with the rest of the class. Most labs will include instructions for plotting your data or selecting records to print and post before you leave the lab. You will have a section of the bulletin board on which to display your data. You will also have a folder in which to keep material that was previously on display. This portfolio of your results will contribute to your lab grade.