Reflections on spinal reflexes.

Abstract

Over the past four decades, the understanding of proprioceptive spinal reflexes has advanced far more rapidly than generally considered. This problem could be largely obviated in undergraduate and graduate training programs if the topic of reflexes was introduced subsequent to the concept and mechanisms of pattern generation within the central nervous system. The key advantage would then be that the neuroscience community as a whole would gain appreciation of the fact that proprioceptive reflexes are not hard-wired but rather are context- and phase-dependent, with the central nervous system selecting input-output pathways appropriate for the task at hand.