reflex action
Involuntary bodily reaction
A reflex action is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus, occurring without conscious thought.
The knee-jerk response when a doctor taps below your kneecap is the classic example.
By extension, reflex action describes any automatic or habitual response: Apologizing had become a reflex action for her.
The term emphasizes the mechanical, unthinking nature of the response.
- knee jerkInvoluntary leg response
- interneuronNerve cell connecting others
- reaction timeSpeed of response
- fight or flightThreat-triggered physiological state
- gut instinctImmediate unreasoned knowing
motor neuron · nerve impulse · neurotransmitter · synapse · response · spinal cord · autonomic nervous system · protective · brainstem · automatism · muscle memory · receptor · unconscious · tendon · wince · hammer · startle · quick reaction
- reflexesreflexes, quick reflexes, knee jerk, knee-jerk, spinal reflexes
- mechanismmechanism, clockwork universe, Newtonian mechanics, classical mechanics, automata