Common questions

What is the reflex arc concept in psychology?

What is the reflex arc concept in psychology?

Abstract. Discusses the concept of the reflex arc. The conscious stimulus or sensation, and the conscious response or motion, have a special genesis or motivation, and a special end or function. The reflex arc theory neglects this genesis and function, and gives only the disjointed parts of the whole process.

What are the 5 structures in the reflex arc?

Most reflex arcs have five main components: receptors, sensory neurons, interneurons, motor neurons and muscles. However, not all reflexes use interneurons.

Who introduced the concept of reflex action?

René Descartes
Figure 1: René Descartes (1594-1660) and Thomas Willis (1618-1678): the two pioneers of the reflex concept.

What is a 3 neuron reflex arc?

There are three main types of neuron: sensory, motor and relay. These different types of neurons work together in a reflex action . A reflex action is an automatic (involuntary) and rapid response to a stimulus, which minimises any damage to the body from potentially harmful conditions, such as touching something hot.

What are the four components of the reflex arc?

The simplest example of a spinal reflex is the monosynapic reflex arc, having four components:

  • A receptor (in this case, the muscle spindle).
  • An afferent component (sensory input).
  • A central component (spinal processing).
  • An efferent component (motor output).

What is the arc theory?

The ordinary reflex arc theory proceeds upon the more or less tacit assumption that the outcome of the response is a totally new experience; that it is, say, the substitution of a burn sensation for a light sensation through the intervention of motion.

What is reflex theory?

The fundamental principle of the reflex theory is based on the conception that the nervous system is a connecting system effecting two kinds of associations : it connects the different organs and the functional systems of the organism into a harmonic functional whole, moreover it connects the organism with its external …

What happens during a reflex arc?

Reflex arcs Receptor in the skin detects a stimulus (the change in temperature). Sensory neuron sends electrical impulses to a relay neuron, which is located in the spinal cord of the CNS. Motor neuron sends electrical impulses to an effector. Effector produces a response (muscle contracts to move hand away).

What is the importance of reflex arc?

A reflex arc is a neural pathway that controls a reflex. In vertebrates, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This allows for faster reflex actions to occur by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain.

What did Rene Descartes mean by the reflex arc?

1649 – René Descartes, French Philosopher and Scientist: Proposes the first mechanistic understanding of what would later be call the reflex arc. According to Descartes, the actions of the body are reflex actions, but actions of the mind are meaningful, conscious, and voluntary.

What are the components of the reflex arc?

…functional group known as the reflex arc. Sensory cells carry 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. Three types of neurons are involved in this reflex arc, but a two-neuron arc,….

What did Descartes say about the action of the body?

According to Descartes, the actions of the body are reflexactions, but actions of the mind are meaningful, conscious, and voluntary. Descartes’ proposition was based on a basic model of sensory input and motor output managed by the brain.

How are reflex arc units in Marshall Hall?

In Marshall Hall …units functions as an independent reflex arc; that the function of each arc arises from the activity of sensory and motor nerves and the segment of the spinal cord from which these nerves originate; and that the arcs are interconnected, interacting with one another and the brain to produce coordinated….

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