Hi, how can I improve my responses to these questions?
why is a spinal reflex considered to have an adaptive or survival role?
The spinal reflex has an adaptive and survival role in our body as it protects the body from harm and negates the need for conscious thought. It is faster, as the brain is bypassed, and therefore responds to potentially dangerous or harmful stimulus even before our brain forms a conscious perception of it.
Give an example of when you may respond to an external stimulus before you know that you have responded.
Formulate a definition for a reflex.
A reflex is an involuntary, unconscious and automatically occurring response to certain stimuli, without involvement of the brain. An example of when one may respond to an external stimulus before they know they have responded is the spinal reflex. In the spinal reflex, sensory receptors detect sensory stimuli and send a message along the afferent neuron to the spinal cord, where it synapses either directly to the efferent neuron, or through an interneuron to the effector muscle, causing a reflex. We only know we have responded after it has occurred due to the speed of the reflex being faster than the message being relayed to the brain via collaterals from the interneuron.
6. Sam is using a wet knife to remove a broken piece of toasted bread that is jammed in the toaster. She experiences an electric shock and spontaneously releases the knife and pulls her hand away from the stimulus.
a) Will Sam experience pain? Explain your answer.
Sam will experience pain after she has withdrawn her hand. The sensory receptors in her fingers sensed the sensory stimulus of the electric shock, and relayed a message down the afferent neuron to the spinal cord, where it synapsed to an interneuron. The interneuron synapsed to the efferent neuron, which relayed the message to her effector muscle, which caused her to withdraw her hand. The interneuron also, via collaterals, simultaneously carry the message to the brain for processing of pain and learning. However, the reflex is faster, explaining why Sam feels pain after she has withdrawn her hand.
b) list in their correct order, the steps that enabled Sam’s spinal reflex
The sensory receptors in her fingers sensed the sensory stimulus of the electric shock, and relayed a message down the afferent neuron to the spinal cord, where it synapsed to an interneuron. The interneuron synapsed to the efferent neuron, which relayed the message to her effector muscle, which caused her to withdraw her hand.
thank you!
im also not sure about this one, thanks everyone!
How might damage to the interneurons affect the spinal reflex?
Damage to the interneurons may cause messages sent along the afferent neuron to be unable to be relayed to the efferent neuron via the interneuron. The interneuron may also fail to make the right connections between the afferent neuron and the efferent neuron, resulting in an inappropriate reflex or none at all, risking potential harm to the person
Mod Edit: Merged double post