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Spinal Reflexes

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Book cover Neuroscience in the 21st Century

Abstract

This chapter deals with relatively simple motor reactions evoked by peripheral stimuli and mediated by neuronal networks in the spinal cord. It will describe the basic mechanisms of reactions evoked by various stimuli as well as their pathological changes in humans, interactions between these reactions, and how they are used as building blocks of our motor reactions.

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Abbreviations

EPSPs:

Excitatory postsynaptic potentials

GABA:

Gamma aminobutyric acid (inhibitory transmitter)

EMG:

Electromyogram

H-reflex:

Hoffmann’s reflex

H wave:

Component of the H-reflex

M wave:

Component of the H-reflex

NA:

Noradrenaline

5-HT:

Serotonin

VGLUT1:

Vesicular glutamate transporter one

VGLUT2:

Vesicular glutamate transporter two

Further Reading

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Acknowledgments

The research work in author’s laboratory has been supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (15393-01) and from the NINDS/NIH (R01 NS040863). Comments from Dr. Robert Burke and Dr. Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny are gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Box 432, 405 30, Göteborg, SE, Sweden

    Prof. Elzbieta Jankowska

Authors
  1. Prof. Elzbieta Jankowska
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elzbieta Jankowska .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    Donald W. Pfaff

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Jankowska, E. (2013). Spinal Reflexes. In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_50

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