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Reflex Activity

Reflex Activity

A reflex activity is an automatic, involuntary response to specific stimuli. It is a part of our survival mechanism, designed to protect us from potential harm. For example, when a bright light suddenly shines into our eyes, we instinctively close them or look away. This is a simple reflex activity orchestrated by the nervous system without conscious thought or effort.
A reflex exam is a diagnostic procedure performed by a healthcare professional to evaluate the functionality of a patient's...

Somatic Spinal Reflexes

Somatic Spinal Reflexes

Somatic spinal reflexes are rapid, involuntary muscular responses to external stimuli that involve the somatic musculature and the spinal cord.
One of the most well-known somatic spinal reflexes is the stretch reflex, which is activated by the sudden stretching of a muscle. This reflex involves the activation of specialized sensory receptors called muscle spindles, which are located in the muscle tissue and detect changes in the length and speed of muscle contractions. When a muscle is suddenly...

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Related Experiment Video

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Development of a Novel Task-oriented Rehabilitation Program using a Bimanual Exoskeleton Robotic Hand

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Shared bimanual tasks elicit bimanual reflexes during movement.

Pratik K Mutha¹, Robert L Sainburg

¹Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.

Journal of Neurophysiology

|October 2, 2009

Summary

Bimanual movement control differs when tasks are shared. Reflex responses are elicited bilaterally in both arms during shared tasks, unlike independent tasks where only the perturbed arm shows reflexes.

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Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Development of a Novel Task-oriented Rehabilitation Program using a Bimanual Exoskeleton Robotic Hand

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Published on: May 20, 2020

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates

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Published on: November 11, 2011

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

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Published on: December 31, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Human Movement Science

Background:

Distinct predictive and reactive control mechanisms exist for unimanual versus bimanual movements.
Movement corrections in bimanual tasks may vary based on task sharing between the arms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if corrective responses during shared bimanual tasks recruit bilateral rapid feedback mechanisms, such as reflexes.
To test the hypothesis that reflexes are bilaterally elicited during shared bimanual movements.

Main Methods:

Subjects performed unimanual and bimanual movements in a virtual reality environment.
Bimanual feedback was either independent per arm or shared (one cursor at the average location).
A unilateral force pulse perturbation was applied to one arm during movement.

Main Results:

Reflex responses were rapidly elicited in the perturbed arm during independent-cursor bimanual trials.
In shared-cursor trials, reflex responses were reduced in the perturbed arm and elicited in the unperturbed arm.
Electromyographic activity remained near baseline in the unperturbed arm during independent-cursor trials.

Conclusions:

Shared bimanual tasks elicit bilateral reflex responses to unilateral perturbations.
Reflex responses are modified based on task context in bimanual feedback control.
These findings extend understanding of how the brain controls coordinated limb movements.