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The spinal cord is a substantial bundle of nerve tissue that transmits data from the brain to the body and back again. Although the spinal cord is enclosed within the vertebrate column's bones, it can send and receive signals from the body because of its connections with spinal nerves (part of the peripheral nervous system).

Motor reflexes are also managed by the spinal cord. These reflexes are swift, unconsciously performed actions, such as pulling one's hand away from a burning object. Because local synaptic connections are involved, reflexes are extremely quick. One synapse between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron, for instance, controls the knee response that a doctor tests during a standard medical.

• The thalamus gets feedback from the cortex as well as sensory and motor inputs from the body.
• Reading and speech are both aided by parietal lobe neurons.
• A part of the brain that governs memory formation is the hippocampus.