Question

Carla is babysitting her 2-year-old nephew for the first time. While her back is turned just for a moment, he touches the pan she just took out of the oven. He pulls his finger away quickly, and a few moments later begins to scream. Why is his screaming delayed (in comparison to his response of pulling away his finger)?

Answer 1

Answer:

Screaming is an emotional response triggered by the brain which receives information about the pain later as compared to pulling away of finger which is a reflex action facilitated by the spinal cord that has a quicker-time to response.

Explanation:

Reflex action happens when part of our body comes to contact with an object which can cause harm and you tend to quickly withdraw that part of the body.Reflex action happens quicker before the brain gets the time to process information about the harm.

When the baby touched the hot pan, at point of contact, skin receptors send nerve impulses to the spinal cord. Interneurons in the spinal cord relay a response to motor neurons to stimulate muscle contraction making the baby to pull his finger away.This happens so fast before the brain receives the message later to trigger emotional response(screaming).