What Is a Spatial Reflex?

A spatial reflex isn't a single reflex but rather a coordinated set of reflexes. Your spatial sense is your ability to perceive where you are in space. Many of the reflexes in this set are referenced in the saying, "A cat always lands on his feet." It is a commentary on an almost innate ability to understand our environment spatially.

  1. Balance

    • Like spatial reflexes, balance is a set of physiology inputs and responses, some of which are reflexes---in other words, they're done without forethought. It is not as broad a set of reflexes, but many systems are involved. Perhaps the most notable is the role of our inner ear. Three fluid-filled tubes tell us where we are in relationship to the force of gravity: the utricle, saccule and semi-circular canal. Our inner ears also give us feedback about inertia.

    Vision

    • The ability to see doesn't just give us information about our spatial orientation; binocular vision, specifically, helps us perceive depth, distance, speed and inertia. This kind of perception is more advanced in some people than others and it can be improved with practice and understanding. Car racers, for example, integrate spatial understanding with binocular vision to create high-functioning spatial reflexes, often at very high speeds.

    Sympathetic Reflexes

    • A portion of our nervous system, called the automatic nervous system, can be divided roughly into systems that operate reflexively (sympathetic) and systems that operate continually and automatically (parasympathetic.) Spacial reflexes draw on our parasympathetic nervous system in ways, but they are primarily responses of our sympathetic nervous system.

    Muscle Memory

    • Muscle memory can be thought of as a well-practiced thought and muscular response. Many athletes use the concept of muscle memory to train. They know that if they practice certain acts, they can, in effect, pass them off from a volitional act to a sympathetic reflex. For example, if you practice catching a baseball, your ability for spacial understanding and catching reflexively improves. Muscle memory is a key component of any reflex. The body does not learn an action reflexively; it performs actions it already knows, reflexively.