Michael Rea

Bio 1108 Lab

Wednesday 4:40
Crickets response to a stimulant and a depressant.
Abstract:
There is concern about the use of widespread chemicals on organisms around the world.
Crickets are one of the most abundant organisms around that are constantly exposed to these
chemicals. We investigated impact of caffeine and Nyquil on speed of crickets. The rate at which
they moved after exposed to the chemical was recorded by distance divided by the time it took to
move this distance; the distance was 20 centimeters. Crickets exposed to both the stimulant and
the depressant moved at a slower rate than the control group. Caffeine and Nyquil exposed
crickets were at least 65% slower than the control group. With Nyquil, there was increased
mortality. The use of Dextromethorphan in Nyquil could be the reason for the cause of death.
With the results of caffeine being almost three times slower than the control, this contradicts
popular belief and other scientific research done with stimulants.
Introduction:
For a variety of reasons, the use of chemicals has increased. Stimulants and depressants
that are used for a variety of reasons inevitably make a way into the environment. The purpose of
these chemicals is to change the environment dictating where organisms can live (Barchok et al.
2000). Benefits from stimulants help grow and put certain nutrients into the crops animals
consume. For instance, caffeine can enhance the rate at which crops grow (Shinozaki et al.
1998). Depressants on plants can help grow healthier plants (Malik et al. 2011). Chemicals,
however, have different effects on different organisms. Depending on the chemical, the reaction
from an organism can range from loss of muscle function to neurological reactions slowing or
increasing (Gorgey 2005). The chemicals can cause a chain reaction to humans. With an
excessive use of these chemicals can cause humans to have the loss of brain function and
because of how quick the chemical can enter the body, makes it very dangerous (Revzin 1979).
Crickets are one of the most unnoticed pests in the world and play a major role in the
food chain. They live in places that are constantly being sprayed with chemicals (Luckey 1968).
Their major roles in the food chain, which can affect humans, and the persistent rate at which
exposed to these different chemicals make them the ideal candidate to help measure the effects
of chemicals. The effecting brain and muscle function will cause a change in how fast they can
move or how much they wish to move. The general idea is that a stimulant, such as caffeine,
given to the cricket will increase the speed at which they move and a depressant will decrease the
rate at which one will move. For these reasons, we predict that when a cricket is given a
stimulant it will move quicker than normal and when a cricket is given a depressant the cricket
will move at a slower rate. This experiment can only be achieved with the right conditions, such
as the same type of cricket, and same type of environment; if done correctly, the information
gained can help humans understand the effects of chemical stimulants and depressants on our
own bodies.
Methods:
We separated crickets into three groups. The first group is the control, followed by the
crickets exposed caffeine, and then the Nyquil exposed crickets. Fifteen crickets, from the
population, were removed and placed into three beakers. The beakers consist of 5 crickets each
and these crickets were used for the experiment. Each group was exposed to this new
environment for 10 to 15 minutes before any manipulation of the cricket was done.
Solutions of Nyquil and 1% caffeine were created and placed into a spray bottle. A maze,
created from foam, was created. The maze was a straight line with a length of 30 centimeters in
total distance. Every 5 centimeters was measured out and marked. Crickets were timed with a
stopwatch.
Crickets were encouraged to move along the maze while one monitored the time needed
for the cricket to move across the maze. Nothing was sprayed on the control group. We
performed the experiment by beginning with the control group. One cricket at a time was
removed from the beaker using a paintbrush. The cricket was immediately placed in the maze.
The cricket was then pushed a little by the end of a chopstick to ensure movement of the cricket.
As soon as the cricket reached the 5 centimeter mark the timer feature of the stopwatch was
started and when the cricket reached the 25 centimeter mark the timer was stopped.
After the control group, the same procedure was repeated two times for the Nyquil and
1% caffeine groups. The Nyquil and 1% caffeine was sprayed on the cricket using a spray bottle.
The number of sprays was five. The crickets were then set aside for 5 to 12 minutes. At the end
of the experiment at total of 15 crickets were recorded. The time and distance were calculated
into a rate and averaged.
On the second day of the experiment, the Nyquil solution was changed. The solution of
Nyquil was changed to a 25% concentration. We then repeated the experiment with the new
solution. Each group of crickets was recorded again. At the end of both days, a total of 30
crickets were observed. At the end of both days, the two control group rates were averaged. The
two 1% caffeine group rates were averaged. The 100% and 25% Nyquil group rates were
averaged separately. Standard error was calculated for each set of the observations.

Results:
Mean speed of the control group was 4.2365 cm/s. The first round of experiments
followed the same procedure with all five crickets observed for each group. The rate recorded for
the control group in round one was 3.5279 cm/s.
The mean rate of movement decreased with a different stimulant and depressant (Figure
1). The 100% Nyquil the average rate was 87% slower than the control group while the 1%
Caffeine was 65% lower than the control group. While the 1% caffeine and 25% Nyquil rates
only differ by 0.6469 cm/s and the 1% caffeine and 100% Nyquil differ by 0.9478 cm/s.
The largest standard error values come from the control group with the caffeine second
and then the Nyquil. While in figure 2, a significant difference between the control and any
manipulation given to the crickets. The Nyquil falls below 1 in 80% of the rates while caffeine
rarely reaches over 1.
An additional observation that is not illustrated in either figure is the cricket death rate
during the experiment. Approximately 10% of the crickets died that received an experiment
treatment; typically those exposed to the harshest condition, 100% Nyquil treatment.
Discussion:
Our results showed a substantial negative impact on the crickets no matter the substance
they were exposed to. The data indicates that not only did the depressants slow the muscle and/or
brain function but the stimulants did too. This means the exposure to Nyquil and/or caffeine has
some correlation with the amount of deaths that occurred in the experiment.
The study of dextromethorphan shows the effect of this chemical on the human body
(Reissig 2012). Dextromethorphan (DXM) is one of the main ingredients in Nyquil and is the
cough suppressant. According to a study, the effects of DXM include: increased blood pressure,
heart rate, and increased rate of hallucinations, and jitters (Reissig 2012). With a high dosage of
the chemical, it could lead to death. This evidence would explain why the crickets who were
exposed to a concentrated dose of Nyquil, 20% of which died. The rate at which the crickets
heart beat could have been so severe that it killed the cricket.
With a constant trend of caffeine exposed crickets performing less than the control, the
facts are this is not supported by what should happen. In a study, caffeine was given to the
human body in a low concentration. The test was however done on humans who which were
being withdrawn from the drug. The patients showed a recurring theme of lower mental alertness
and mental performance. The caffeine did however, increase physical performance by increased
speed of tapping and faster choice and reasoning (Rogers 2013). The study did the opposite of
what the crickets exposed did. The study does not explain the results.
A study on flys was conducted to determine what effects would be portrayed if given
caffeine. The result showed how caffeine would inhibit the ATM and ATR DNA damage
response proteins. These proteins would cause the deletion of DNA. The flys was put through
challenges. Normally the challenges would cause no problem but the caffeine flies could not
perform any new challenges (Li et al. 2013). These results are similar to the results of this
experiment. The manipulated crickets could not perform a new task such as running through a
maze.
The environment that crickets are exposed to is harsh. Plants that these crickets eat have
the ability to produce caffeine as a natural defense mechanism. Plants in these environments can
also be exposed to different chemicals that are in water (Villanueva et al. 2014). For this reason,
crickets had to adapt, otherwise the food chain would be affected ( and Kuroda 1957). The
effect would mean a loss in food. It would deter fish and lizards from eating the crickets. This
causes a chain reaction. It hurts all secondary consumers in the chain which ultimately hurts
mankind.
Other explanations are needed to explain significant differences between the two rounds
of the experiment. A major factor that could influence the results is how measuring the time it
took for the cricket to reach 20 centimeters. The time was watched by two individuals who
relayed when to start and stop the timer to someone else. The fact that others have not done
experiments like this before allows for error in the human sense. The use of a timer between two
points using some type of laser could eliminate the human factor and create more accurate
information.
The findings in this experiment have shown how critical stimulant and depressant
chemicals affect physiological processes, such as movement speed. Future studies need to focus
more on the internal effects on the crickets, such as heart rate. While other experiments suggest
that crickets would in fact be more prone to movement speed with stimulants and lower
movement speed with depressants, our data indicates that both a stimulant or a depressant slow
the movement speed.








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Figure 1: Mean calculated across the different groups with standard error. The control group
represents the mean of both days of experimentation. For 25% Nyquil (n = 5). 100% Nyquil (n =
5). 1% caffeine and the control treatment (n = 10).

Figure 2: Cricket rate values for all 30 crickets, differentiated by group. For crickets exposed to
25% and 100% Nyquil treatment (n = 5). For crickets exposed to 1% caffeine treatment (n = 10).
Control treatment crickets (n = 10). Control rate is the fastest in each individual test with some
outliers, showing an effect on the crickets from different treatments.