EK Biology

[helix]

Here's the question -

A cook touches a hot stove and involuntarily withdraws
his hand before he feels pain. Which of the following
would not be involved in the stimulus-response pathway
described?
A. a neuron in the cerebellum
B. a neuron in the spinal cord
C. a motor neuron
D. a sensory neuron

I got this wrong because I over-interpreted, if you know what I mean.
I took "involuntarily" as subconsciously since he didn't even feel the pain

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

Hard to answer this without the passage itself, but my guess would be A. there has to be an afferent signal to respond to even if pain itself hasn't been transmitted, so D is out. he moves, so C is out. This leaves us betwee A and B, but since the sensory and motor has to be linked somewhere for the reflex to occur, I used the question to guide me - cerbellum is much higher up in the CNS, and thus probably contributes more to the voluntary actions. So I eliminate B.

 

[helix]

Thanks for your response.
There is no passage for this question.
Just a bunch of questions at the end of the chapter.

A is actually right.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

did my train of thought make sense to you

 

[helix]

Yes, thanks.

"since the sensory and motor has to be linked somewhere for the reflex to occur" explained it all!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

excellent. good luck with the rest of your studies

 

[helix]

Thank you!!

 

[ElliottB]

Just remember that the cerebellum plays a role in fine movement as well as some other cognitive functions. The cook didn't have to think about moving his hand. The nerves that control this (both afferent and efferent neurons) run through the spinal cord, eliminating all answers but A.

I remember this problem and it had me thinking too.

 

[alexandertg6]

its a simple reflex arc, the sensory neurons loop back to motor neurons in the spinal chord creating a reflex before the brain receives the signal and has time to think about what to do. This was already stated ahead of me i just posted it more to cement my own understanding of the question so correct me if im wrong ^^