You are removing a hot pan of cookies from the oven, using a pot holder. Suddenly, you feel a surge of heat through the pot holder. Why don’t you react by dropping the baking pan and spilling cookies all over the floor?

a. Cortical integration centers override the spinal reflex.
b. The limbic system inhibits the fear of being burned.
c. Sensory input is temporarily suspended to the spinal reflex center.
d. Efferent signals by cord ventral cord neurons are interrupted.

Withdrawal reflex actions are performed via nociceptive receptors and flexor muscles. The spinal reflex is intended to protect the body from damaging stimuli i.e. withdrawing the hands when a person touches some hot object and heat stimulates nociceptive receptors on skin triggering a sensory impulse to nervous system. The sensory neurons synapses with motor neurons to send motor impulses to the flexor muscles for hand withdrawal. However, some motor neurons send inhibitory signals to extensors so that flexion is inhibited which is called reciprocal innervation. However, the body can override the reflex via cortical integration by using either recursion or compression mechanisms of integration. The compression mechanism of cortical integration may apply the Recursive Auto-Associative Memory (or RAAM) which allows the storage of some hidden responses to some previously held situations in the cortical layers of brain. Hence, when the same situation occurs again, the reflexive response is different and may allow suppression of reflex via RAAM cortical integration. In the given scenario, the spinal reflex intends to drop the plate as soon as heat touches the nociceptive receptors. However, RAAM cortical integration may resist the reflex to drop and put it safely somewhere because the mind is intended to reach the goal of saving the dinner on the plate.