PSYC 375 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Central Pattern Generator, Patellar Reflex, Somatic Nervous System

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 375
• Professor: Simon Spanswick

Document Summary

Often in conjunction with the brain, but not always. The patellar reflex, that thing where the doctor whacks your knee with a hammer, does not require the brain to occur. Locomotion has a central pattern generator in the spine. If you were to stimulate the locomotor cpg, you could create movement, but it"s not quite right because it lacks additional input from the brain. The spinal cord receives and sends information to and from the entire body. The segments of our bodies (dermatomes) correspond to segments of the spinal cord. Each dermatome has a sensory nerve and a motor nerve associated with it. Sensory information is transmitted to the brain (afferent) in the dorsal portion of the spinal cord. Motor information is transmitted from the brain (efferent) in the ventral portion of the spinal cord. The hindbrain is comprised of the cerebellum, the medulla, the reticular formation and the pons.