The rate of these thoughts varies according to myelination and axon diameter

Which means that given a sufficiently long, myelinated or large-diameter neuron,your thoughts actually could win the race.But there a wrinkle.The arrow and thought don leave the gate at the same time;first the arrow fires, then once you perceive it,your signal can start down its path.Processing images or music, participating in inner speech,and recalling memories all require complicated neural pathways that are nowhere close to the linearity of the knee-jerk reflex.The speed at which these thoughts occur is mostly consistent,with variations based on myelination and axon diameter.