CHEM 183 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Alessandro Volta, Otto Loewi, Luigi Galvani

• School: McGill University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHEM 183
• Professor: Ariel Fenster

Document Summary

Mental illness is highly prevalent, affects ~25% of population at point in lives. Sigmund freud first person to look scientifically" at mental illness. Struggle between conscious and subconscious mind (nothing to do with spirits") Observe that sparks of static electricity could provoke muscle motions/spasms. Worked with frog legs (hung them on large metal fence) Thought electricity was coming from animal muscle itself. Argued that the electricity came from the contact of muscle to. Built first battery: layers of metal and salt soaked paper. Brain and spinal cord = vast electrical network. Became apparent that human nervous system functioned through electrical impulses. >question remained of how the electrical signal translates into physical action. Austrian physiologist who carried out experiment to investigate physical effect. Used frog hearts to determine whether signal was electrical or chemical. Two frog hearts were placed beside one another in containers filled with liquid.