Question

Which of the following scenarios best describes the consensual reflex?

A. A ball is thrown in your direction and you see it coming by means of your peripheral vision. It allows you to unconsciously duck to avoid being hit by the ball.
B. You are outside on a cloudy day. As the day goes on, the clouds dissipate and the sun shines through, hitting your retina. This causes your pupils to dilate, protecting you from the rays.
C. You sit in a dimly-lit room with your hand covering one eye so that no light enters. You switch on a light, causing constriction of the pupils of both the covered and uncovered eye.
D. You decide to be a pirate for Halloween so you can wear an eye patch. You soon regret this decision, however, because the patch keeps the covered eye from constricting, causing vertigo.
E. In a dimly-lit room, your cones are able to activate to a higher degree, allowing you to see colors better in the dark.

Answer 1

The best scenario describing the consensual reflex is when light causes constriction in both pupils regardless of only one eye being stimulated, demonstrating the bilateral nature of the pupillary light reflex.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scenario that best describes the consensual reflex is: C. You sit in a dimly-lit room with your hand covering one eye so that no light enters. You switch on a light, causing constriction of the pupils of both the covered and uncovered eye. The pupillary light reflex is an example of autonomic control where the pupils constrict or dilate in response to the amount of light hitting the retina. When light hits the retina in one eye, both pupils contract due to a parasympathetic response through the oculomotor nerve, and when the light is removed, both pupils dilate back to their resting position. This response illustrates how the autonomic reflexes, controlled by the hypothalamus and other CNS locations, differ from somatic reflexes, which are unilateral or affect only the stimulated side.