Thus, more neurons and synapses are involved, which usually results in a longer delay between stimulus and response and often a more complex response. More complex reflexes usually involve additional (inter-) neurons and more than one population of motor neurons. Sensory information also ascends to higher centers, but the brain is not necessary or required to perform the reflex. The required circuitry for this reflex is confined to the spinal cord, as shown in Figure 1. Image by Marta Aguayo CC BY 3.0.Ī simple reflex like the myotactic reflex is produced via single synapses between sensory axons and motor neurons. A cross-section of the spinal cord showing the single synapse between the sensory and the motor neurons involved in a myotactic reflex. A loud sound or something flying at your eye makes you blink, while a tap on the tendon under the knee cap produces the knee-jerk (or myotactic) reflex. A reflex is the most simple stimulus-response reaction. If a motor response is initiated, it usually involves a series of action potentials which produce muscle contraction and movement in one or more parts of the body. An external stimulus is detected by a receptor, which sends sensory information to the central nervous system, where it is processed. The nervous system allows us to detect changes in the environment and react to them.
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