Open AccessStudies on the flexor reflex.—I. Latent period
Author(s) -
John C. Eccles,
C. S. Sherrington
Publication year - 1931
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series b, containing papers of a biological character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9185
pISSN - 0950-1193
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.1931.0013
Subject(s) - reflex , silent period , withdrawal reflex , period (music) , stimulus (psychology) , afferent , medicine , anesthesia , anatomy , psychology , physics , acoustics , stimulation , transcranial magnetic stimulation , psychotherapist
The latent period of the flexor reflex was first measured as the interval between the application of a stimulus and the beginning of the mechanical response of the muscle (Sherrington, 1906). Jolly (1911) introduced the electrical response of the muscle recorded by the string galvanometer as a basis of measurement of latent period, and he calculated that the time occupied in the passage through the spinal cord (central reflex-time) was about 4σ. Forbes and Gregg (1915) used the electrical response of the motor nerve in their measurements of latent period and calculated that the central reflextime was 3 to 5σ, thus confirming Jolly. In both calculations, however, certain assumptions had to be made as to the velocity of propagation of impluses in the afferent nerve fibres. Since 1915 there has been no systematic investigation of the latent period of the flexor reflex. In the following investigation an attempt has been made to throw fresh light on the nature and duration of its latent period.