REFLEXES

• Reflexes - rapid, predictable, and involuntary responses to stimuli; occur over neural pathways called reflex arcs
• 2 Types of Reflexes:

  • Somatic Reflexes
  • Autonomic Reflexes
• Somatic reflexes - stimulate the skeletal muscles
• Autonomic reflexes - regulate the activity of smooth muscles, the heart, and glands
• Five elements of a reflex arc:

  • Sensory receptor
  • Sensory neuron
  • Integration center
  • Motor neuron
  • Effector organ
• Pain - a sensation characterized by a group of unpleasant perceptual and emotional experiences that trigger autonomic, psychological, and somatic motor responses
• Analgesics - pain-relieving medications
• Referred pain - painful sensation in a region of the body that is not the source of the pain stimulus
• Phantom pain - occurs in people who have had appendages amputated or structures removed
• Chronic pain - long-lasting