Dive Response Experiments in Antarctica

Dive Response Experiments in Antarctica

PowerLab and LabChart were used to demonstrate diving bradycardia to three hundred passengers aboard a Discovery cruise ship that recently visited Antarctica. Passengers observed a woman's heart rate drop from 80 to 50 b.p.m. when she plunged her head into a bowl of icy water.

The demonstration of induced bradycardia formed part of a diving lecture about Antarctic seals by guest lecturer Dr Craig Franklin from the University of Queensland. 

For a copy of a Dive Response experiment that can be used in your laboratory, click here.

Diving reflex data showing a reflex bradycardia with breath-hold and face immersion. At 0:2:20 seconds the subject took in a big breath, at 0:2:35 the head was put into a bowl of ice cold water, at 0:3:00 the breath was released.

24 March 2005