Reflex Arcs
A reflex arc is a neural circuit that creates a more or less automatic link between a sensory input and a specific motor output. Reflex circuits vary in complexity—the simplest spinal reflexes are mediated by a three-element chain, beginning with sensory neurons which activate interneurons in the spinal cord, which then activate motor neurons. Some reflex responses, such as withdrawing the hand after touching a hot surface, are protective, but others, such as the patellar reflex "knee jerk" activated by tapping the patellar tendon, contribute to ordinary behaviour.
Read more about this topic: Somatic Nervous System
Famous quotes containing the word reflex:
“The theatre is the involuntary reflex of the ideas of the crowd.”
—Sarah Bernhardt (1845–1923)