spinal reflexes
Involuntary vertebral reactions
Spinal reflexes are automatic, involuntary responses controlled by the spinal cord without direct involvement from the brain.
When you touch something hot and jerk your hand away before consciously registering pain, that's a spinal reflex.
The knee-jerk response when a doctor taps below your kneecap is the classic clinical example.
These reflexes evolved for speed—the neural circuit stays local, bypassing the brain's slower processing.
- dorsal root ganglionSensory nerve cell cluster
- interneuronsNeurons connecting other neurons
- neurotransmissionNerve cell chemical communication
- gray matterBrain's cognitive tissue
- flaccidityLack of firmness
motor neurons · lower motor neuron · upper motor neuron · spasticity · knee jerk · muscle contraction · sensory neurons · nerve impulse · synapses · peripheral nerves · clonus · multiple sclerosis · feedback loops · neural plasticity