righting reflex [AS, riht + L, reflectere, to bend back] , any one of the neuromuscular responses to restore the body to its normal upright position when it has been displaced. The righting reflexes involve complicated mechanisms and processes associated with the structures of the internal ear, such as the utricle, the saccule, the macula, and the semicircular canals. Any change in the position of the head produces a change in the pressure on the gelatinous membrane of the macula. The fibers of the nerve (vestibular branch of the eighth cranial nerve) transmit impulses to the brain, producing a sense of position. The head and trunk are thus kept in alignment. Also activating righting reflexes are proprioceptors in muscles and tendons and visual nerve impulses. Also called body righting reflex.
