Speaker: Have a burn to your finger, this is what happens. You pull your hand away. Why? Well, a message is sent along the sensory neuron to the spinal cord from there a message is sent directly along motor neuron to the muscles. It's a rapid protective response to get you out of trouble fast and doesn't directly involve the brain. So, inside the spinal cord the signal is received, a connecting neuron is brought into action, this activates the motor neuron and a signal is sent directly back to the appropriate muscles, you pull your finger away.