Conduction Velocity

Neural Conduction Velocity — Earthworm 

In this extracellular electrophysiology experiment on Lumbricus terrestris giant fibers using a Spiker Box system, I constructed a differential electrode configuration along the ventral nerve cord. I optimized the setup with a Faraday cage and grounding strategy to minimize environmental noise and improve signal to noise ratio. Evoked spikes through calibrated mechanical stimulation, then measured spike latency across known electrode spacing to calculate conduction velocity. Temperature dependence experiments demonstrated ~2× faster transmission under room temperature conditions, reflecting changes in sodium channel kinetics and membrane excitability. This project strengthened practical skills in bioelectric signal capture, hardware troubleshooting, noise reduction, and quantitative analysis of action potential propagation.