Reflexes, Proprioception, and Movement Flashcards
Cerebral Reflex
Involves brain control
Spinal Reflex
Involves spinal cord control
Autonomic Reflexes
- Involve smooth and cardiac muscles and glands.
- Regulate bodily functions like digestion, blood pressure, and sweating.
Somatic Reflexes
- Involve skeletal muscles.
- Include stretch and withdrawal reflexes.
- Function without conscious thought.
pulling your hand away from a hot pan
Sensory Neurons
Detect external stimuli
Motor Neurons
Initiate muscle movement
Interneurons
Connect sensory and motor pathways
Receptor
Detects the stimulus (e.g., pinprick).
Sensory (Afferent) Nerve
Transmits the impulse to the CNS
central nervous system
Afferent neurons carry information to CNS
Interneuron (Adjustor)
Processes the signal and formulates a response.
Motor (Efferent) Nerve
carry motor information away from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands of the body
Effector Organ
Executes the response (e.g., muscle contraction)
Muscle spindle
sensory receptors within a muscle fibre that primarily detect changes in the length of the muscle
ex. knee-jerk reflex, where a tap on the patellar tendon causes the quadriceps muscle to quickly contract, resulting in the leg kicking forward to prevent overstretching
monosynaptic reflex vs polysynaptic reflex
The word monosynaptic means “one synapse”; these types of reflexes involve two neurons, an afferent and an efferent. Polysynaptic (“multiple synapses”) reflexes involve an efferent neuron, an afferent neuron, and at least one interneuron and will therefore form at least two synapses.
ex. monosynaptic: knee reflex
ex. polysynaptic: automatic withdrawal of the leg when the foot steps on a sharp object
Golgi tendon organs
sensors in tendons that detect muscle tension and help prevent injury by making muscles relax when the tension is too high
ex. during heavy lifting, if the muscle tension becomes too great, the GTOs help prevent injury by reducing muscle contraction force.
