Pulling your hand away from a hot object, blinking because it's very bright or kicking when someone taps the tendon below your kneecap - these are all innate reflex actions. They happen rapidly, you ...

WITHIN the past decade, the use of electronic methods has laid bare much of the mechanism underlying the myotatic, or stretch, reflex of mammalian striated muscle. Outstanding among these advances are ...

The rooting reflex allows a newborn baby to find your breast or a bottle to begin feeding. It’s one of several reflexes, or involuntary movements, that babies are born with which help them through ...

The chemicals diffuse across the synapse and trigger an electrical impulse in the next neuron in the circuit. The electrical impulse reaches the end of the sensory neuron. Chemicals are released that ...

Voluntary actions involve conscious thought (thinking time). Reflex actions do not involve conscious thought (thinking time) and happen very quickly to avoid unnecessary damage to the body. One ...

The main purpose of a gag reflex is to contract the throat to prevent a person from choking. A gag reflex is a natural response. However, in some people, the gag reflex may be oversensitive. In these ...

The Moro reflex, or startle reflex, refers to an involuntary motor response that infants develop shortly after birth. This may include extending their arms and possibly moving their legs, before ...

Babies are born with a sucking reflex to help them feed. The reflex is key to nursing or bottle feeding and may be weaker in some infants, They may need assistance from a feeding tube. Newborn babies ...

You may have noticed your baby being startled or reacting suddenly when you're trying to put them down to sleep. This is the Moro reflex, one of several normal reflexes that healthy babies are born ...