MadSci Network: Anatomy
Query:

Re: What is the difference between a reflex and a reaction?

Date: Sun Jan 25 19:38:17 2004
Posted By: Robin Cooper, Faculty, neurobiology, Univ. of Kentucky
Area of science: Anatomy
ID: 1072755273.An
Message:

What is the difference between a reflex and a reaction?

Hi ,

This is a great question !

The first point that one might consider is that a reflex is commonly
thought of a response that can not be controlled or regulated.

A good example of a reflex is when you receive a tap on the tendon just
below the knee cap and the bottom part of you leg kicks out. 

There are many examples, such as when a piece of dirt is in your eye you
start to blink even when you don’t think about blinking. One might also
think the REFLEX of blinking is a RESPONSE to the dirt in the eye.

I guess the easiest way to explain the difference for common use related to
a stimulus is that a reflex is a type of response but one we do not have to
think about. 

A reflex is one  type of response.

But you can see the terms might be confusing when used in a different way. 
Think about you fall and get a black and blue bruise on your leg. The
bruise is a response to the fall on your leg. You did not have to think
about making a bruise but it is not really considered a reflex since it is
not a motor movement. 

According to    www.dictionary.com   there are some other uses of the terms
‘response’ and ‘reflex’ that you might be interested in.

re·flex
adj. 
1.	Bent, turned, or thrown back; reflected.
2.	Physiology. Being an involuntary action or response, such as a sneeze,
blink, or hiccup.
3.	Produced as an automatic response or reaction: reflex opposition to change. 

noun 
1. Something, such as light or heat, that is reflected. An image produced
by reflection. A copy or reproduction.
2.	Physiology. An involuntary response to a stimulus.
3.	Psychology. An unlearned or instinctive response to a stimulus.
4.	Linguistics. A form or feature that reflects or represents an earlier,
often reconstructed, form or feature having undergone phonetic or other change.

re·sponse

noun 
1. The act of responding.
2.	A reply or an answer.
3.	A reaction, as that of an organism or a mechanism, to a specific stimulus.
4.	Ecclesiastical. Something that is spoken or sung by a congregation or
choir in answer to the officiating minister or priest.
A responsory.


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