H08 Dive Reflex

Follow the procedure on this site to record and measure change in heart rate (ECG) from a human after immersing in cold water.  Next, design an experiement to identify the exact stimulus that evokes the change in heart rate (in beats per minute or BPM).

Experimental Objectives

1. To record the change in heart rate that occurs when a subject immerses his face in cold water.
2. To investigate the physiological reason for the observed response.

Tasks Performed by the Student

Subject will submerge face in cold water during breath holding (apnea).

Student Prep & Distance Learning

Click the link(s) below for sample data and/or lesson procedure video(s), BSL PRO Lesson procedures (PDF) for human lessons*, and graph template files (*.gtl) for BSL PRO Lessons. If more than one .gtl is available, download the .gtl with the _suffix to match BSL version and hardware.

• BSL PRO Lesson H08 (PDF)
• Graph template for BSL PRO Lesson H08
• Graph template for BSL PRO 4 Lesson H08

Lesson Hardware

This lesson requires a Biopac Student Lab (BSL) System and the following hardware. If your BSL System does not include all hardware items, expand your system by selecting required items below. For more details, review the Lesson: L# BSL Lessons - see the Lab Manual or launch BSL; A# and H# BSL PRO Lessons, click the PDF link above to review full setup, recording, and analysis procedures.