AimMent
← NEET Biology
NEETBiologyNeural Control and CoordinationClass 11

When you touch a hot object your hand jerks back before you feel the pain. How?

This is a spinal reflex.

This is a spinal reflex. Heat receptors in the skin send an impulse along a sensory neuron to the spinal cord, which routes it at once through a relay neuron to a motor neuron that contracts your arm muscles, pulling the hand away. The impulse also climbs to the brain, but that takes longer, so you consciously feel the pain a moment after you have already withdrawn. The reflex arc protects you without waiting for the brain.

Key point

A reflex arc acts through the spinal cord, so the hand withdraws before the slower brain signal creates the feeling of pain.

Common mistake

thinking the brain decides to pull the hand back.

Memory tip

reflex = spinal cord acts first, brain feels it afterwards.

Tap to watch or see it right here — the app stays open (it only opens a quick search if nothing embeddable is found).

More on Neural Control and Coordination

What does “Nerve impulse” actually mean in Neural Control and Coordination, and why does it matter for NEET?I keep getting “Nerve impulse” questions wrong in Neural Control and Coordination. What's the trap?What does “Synapse” actually mean in Neural Control and Coordination, and why does it matter for NEET?I keep getting “Synapse” questions wrong in Neural Control and Coordination. What's the trap?What does “Reflex arc” actually mean in Neural Control and Coordination, and why does it matter for NEET?I keep getting “Reflex arc” questions wrong in Neural Control and Coordination. What's the trap?