REFLEX ACTION

• The word reflex (from Latin reflexus, “reflection”) was

introduced into biology by a 19th-century English neurologist, 
Marshall Hall

•  By reflex, Hall meant the automatic response of a muscle or

several muscles to a stimulus that excites an afferent nerve.

• The term is now used to describe an action that is an inborn

central nervous system activity, not involving consciousness, in
which a particular stimulus, by exciting an afferent nerve,
produces a stereotyped, immediate response of muscle or gland.
reflex arc

• The anatomical pathway of a reflex is called

the reflex arc.

The simplest arrangement of a reflex arc consists of the

receptor, an interneuron (or adjustor), and an effector;
together, these units form a functional group.

Sensory cells carry input from the receptor (afferent

impulses) to a central interneuron, which makes contact
with a motor neuron.

The motor neuron carries efferent impulses to the

effector, which produces the response.
1.Receptor - It receives the information and assists in
generating impulses. 

2.Sensory Nerve - It carries information from the receptor

to the interneurons in the spinal cord. 

3.Interneuron - It processes the information and generates

effective responses. 

4.Motor Nerve - It carries the information from the spinal

cord to the effector organ. 

5.Effector Organ - It receives information from effector

neurons and results in the appropriate response (reflex). 
 Some Important Reflex Actions:

1. Closing of eyes when a bright light hits our eyes

2. Sudden withdrawing hands or legs when they touch something hot or
pricking
3. Coughing or sneezing due to irritants in the nasal passage
4. Batting of eyelids frequently
5. Blinking eyes when insects come in contact 
6. Grasp and Rooting reflex in infants
7. The reflex of abdominal muscles to contract upon any force to the
abdomen (Muscular defense)
8. Knee-jerk reflex is known as a patellar reflex: when the patellar tendon
is stretched, the contraction of quadriceps takes place.
• Monosynaptic Reflex Arc:
• It is a simple reflex arc involving one sensory
and one motor nerve fibre. It is generally not
found in vertebrates.
• Polysynaptic Reflex Arc:
• Reflex arc involving more than one sensory
and one motor neuron.
• Inborn reflexes which are due to unfamiliar or unconscious
stimulus such as unknowingly touching hot object, sudden
appearance of a flying object in front of the eye are called
unconditioned reflexes.
• There are other reflexes which are acquired by the animal by
learning process or experience such as secretion of saliva on
looking at delicious food, getting the smell of it. Such reflexes are
called conditioned reflexes.
•
• Reflex actions have many advantages. It relieves the brain of such
unnecessary works by taking care of minor daily activities of the
body. They are automatic and protective in nature.
• Sensory Neuron
• It is the second component of the reflex arc. The
action potential generated by the receptor is carried
to the spinal cord via the sensory neuron.
• These neurons have cell bodies in the posterior root
ganglion. The peripheral process of such neurons is
long and make connections with the receptor or have
a specialized nerve ending that itself acts as a
receptor. The central process is small and synapses
with the interneurons present in the spinal cord.
• Interneuron
• It is also called the relay neuron
• Interneurons are present in the white matter of the spinal cord. They
receive information from the sensory neuron, process this information
within a few milliseconds, and decide about the response.
• The information regarding the response is fed to the effector neuron to be
transmitted to the effector organ.
• Motor Neuron
• Such neurons are also called effector neurons. They are responsible for
carrying the nerve impulses to the effector organ.
• The cell bodies of such neurons are located in the white matter of the spinal
cord. They have a single large axon that carries the impulses from the
interneuron in the spinal cord to the effector organ located at a distance.
• Effector Organ
• An effector organ is the one that acts in response to
the stimulus. In the case of the reflex arc, the effector
organ is almost always a muscle fiber or a group of
muscle fibers.
• It is innervated by a motor neuron carrying information
about the response.
• In most of the cases, three neurons are involved in a
reflex arc. However, sometimes it might have only two
neurons i.e. a sensory neuron and an effector neuron.
• The components of a reflex arc are;
• A receptor to detect the stimulus
• A sensory neuron to carry the information towards
the spinal cord
• An interneuron to process the information (not
present in all reflexes)
• An effector neuron to carry signals to the effector
organ
• An effector organ that performs the response action
 Withdrawal Reflex

• The purpose of the withdrawal reflex is to protect the body

from harmful stimuli such as heat or pain. It is activated once
a pain stimulus is perceived by the receptors. It is also called
flexor withdrawal reflex or nociceptive reflex.
• It is a polysynaptic reflex involving multiple synapses and
neurons. The reflex arc in the case of a withdrawal reflex
involves the following.
• Receptor
• Two types of receptors may be involved;
• Thermoreceptors
• Nociceptors
• Thermoreceptors detect the changes in the
surrounding temperature. They are the specialized
nerve cells located in the skin. The convert any
change in temperature to the action potential.
• Nociceptors are the specialized free nerve endings
that can perceive different damaging pain stimuli.
These receptors may be stimulated by any thermal,
mechanical, or chemical stimulation.
• Neurons-Being a polysynaptic reflex,  it involves sensory,
association, and motor neurons.
• The sensory neuron carries the information regarding the pain
stimulus to the association neuron.
• The association neuron processes this information and passes it to
the motor neurons.
• The motor neuron carries this information regarding the response
to the effector organ.
• Effector Organ:-The effector organ is a flexor muscle. When it is
stimulated by a motor neuron, the muscle contracts and the body
is flexed, moving it away from the stimulus.
• The extensor muscles do not take part in this kind of response.
• Example:-An example of withdrawal reflex is when you
accidentally touch a hot object.
• The high temperature of the object and the pain
caused by it is detected by the receptors.
• The flexor muscles are excited and the arm is pulled
away from the damaging stimulus.
• This entire process is completed in only a fraction of a
second. Meanwhile, some signals are also sent to the
higher levels of the brain so that the body becomes
aware of what has happened.
• Importance
• The purpose of this kind of reflex is to save the
body from the harms of the damaging stimulus.
The painful stimulus is immediately detected
and the body is moved away from it.
• In the case of drunk or drugged people, the
withdrawal reflex is not active. This is the
reason why such people don’t exhibit any
response to a painful stimulus.
 Receptors
• Receptors involved in the reflex arc have
different structures and properties. Some of
the common receptors involved are as follows;
• Pain receptors: They are the free nerve
endings of sensory neurons
• Thermoreceptors: These include specialized
heat or cold receptors.
• Mechanoreceptors:Mechanoreceptors detect
stimuli such as touch, pressure, vibration, and
sound from the external and internal
environments.
• They contain primary sensory neurons that
respond to changes in mechanical
displacement, usually in a localized region at
the tip of a sensory dendrite.