You are babysitting your 2-year-old nephew for the first time. While your back is turned, he touches the pan you just took out of the oven. He pulls his finger away quickly, and a few seconds later begins to scream. Why is his screaming delayed in comparison to his response of pulling away his finger?

1. The finger-withdrawal reflex involves only the spinal cord, so it takes time before the information about pain reaches the brain.
2. It takes longer to sense something than to understand the consequences of an action.
3. His parasympathetic system was activated to arouse him, which stifled his vocal reaction.
4. He knew he would get in trouble if he started screaming so he held it in as long as he could.

Based on the information provided within the question it can be said that the reason for this is that the finger-withdrawal reflex involves only the spinal cord, so it takes time before the information about pain reaches the brain. Since in the human body the signal for touch reaches the brain faster than the signal that indicates pain. Therefore the child felt the hot pan but did not feel the pain for a second or two later.