Question

Reflex activity can be modified by the cerebral cortex. For example, you are baking a roast in the oven. As you are moving the roast from the oven to the counter, hot juices splash you. Reflex activity would cause you to drop the pan, but you hold on to it. Explain how the cerebral cortex overrides the reflex.

Answer 1

The cerebral cortex can override a reflex by processing sensory information and integrating it with emotions, memories, and other stimuli to send a motor command that directs voluntary actions, like holding onto a hot pan despite discomfort.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a person comes into contact with a hot object, the immediate, reflexive response is to withdraw from the heat source. This type of reflex action typically involves a sensory neuron detecting a stimulus and sending a signal through the spinal cord, bypassing the brain for a quick reaction. This is why reflexes are so fast because they involve local synaptic connections in a form of a reflex arc.

However, the cerebral cortex can modify this reflex activity. It processes the sensory information and can integrate it with other stimuli, emotional states, and memories. Upon receiving the sensory information of the hot splash from the roast, your cerebral cortex quickly processes the pain but also recognizes the importance of not dropping the pan. It then sends a motor command to override the reflex to hold onto the pan despite the discomfort.

In this case, the cerebral cortex functions efficiently to form a decision based on complex factors such as the consequence of dropping the pan and the potential waste of effort and food. Therefore, when you override a reflex, it is the result of the cerebral cortex engaging in higher-level thinking and decision-making processes, allowing for voluntary control over what would otherwise be an automatic reflexive action.

Answer 2

There are different types of reflexes, and some of them can be controlled voluntarily due to cortical processing.

Step-by-step explanation:

Even if there is an initial myotactic reflex of moving away from the heat, the cortical processing that is subject to learning makes you not let go of the pan. It should be noted that there are different types of reflexes, and not all postural reactions are automatic. The cerebral cortex influences voluntary postural adjustment movements. Such control is mainly performed by the brain stem, where ocurrs the modulation of motor neurons and spinal cord interneurons through the lateral descending (fine movements) and medial (posture and balance) downward pathways.