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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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 30, 2025

Studying the Coding Profiles of Somatic Stimulation on Cardiac-locked Neuronal Responses in the Rat Spinal Dorsal Horn

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Pricking into Autonomic Reflex Pathways by Electrical Acupuncture.

Jussi Kupari¹, Patrik Ernfors¹

¹Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Division of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden.

|November 12, 2020

Summary

Electrical acupuncture stimulates specific neurons to control autonomic circuits, influencing the body's inflammatory response. This technique can be tuned to either promote or reduce inflammation.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Immunology
Physiology

Background:

The autonomic nervous system regulates physiological functions, including inflammation.
Electrical stimulation is a known method for modulating neural activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of electrical acupuncture on autonomic circuits.
To determine if electrical stimulation can elicit differential inflammatory responses.

Main Methods:

Electrical acupuncture was applied to primary somatosensory neurons in different body regions.
Varying stimulation parameters were utilized.

Main Results:

Electrical stimulation of somatosensory neurons can access distinct autonomic circuits.
The parameters of electrical stimulation determined whether a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response was initiated.

Conclusions:

Electrical acupuncture offers a method to precisely modulate autonomic pathways.
This approach provides a potential mechanism for controlling inflammatory conditions through targeted neural stimulation.