2 Primitive Reflexes

Reactions

• Allows you to lose your balance, regain it, and return to the midline by using your head trunk

• Ex. righting, protective, equilibrium

What is the difference between labyrinthine and optical righting?

Optical = eyes open

Labyrinthine = eyes closed

Midbrain/cortical reactions

• Includes forward, sideways, backwards

• Whole body response that includes extremities when balance is lost

What is a reflex?

• Basic unit of movement

• Used for survival, nutrition, and protection

• Present at birth but integrated by CNS withing first year of life

• Activate neural pathways for later life

How is crossed extension different from flexor

withdrawal?

Moro reflex

 Stimulus: sudden drop of the head in extension

 Response: causes the arms to abduct then flex in towards the body then cry (3 phases)

 Purpose: survival reaction

Spinal Galant reflex

 Stimulus: touching the mid to lower paraspinals on one side from top to bottom or bottom to top

 Response: the side that was stimulated will laterally flex and the hip will flex outward

 Purpose: teaches the brain lateral flexion and rotation, assists with getting through the birth canal and for preparation for crawling

Babinski reflex

 Stimulus: plantar surface of the foot- stroke the foot from the lateral to the medial side along the metatarsal heads

 Response: great toe will extend and abduct while the other toes extend and fan out, dorsiflexion, hip flexion, external rotation, and knee flexion

 Purpose: prepares the feet for standing and gait, helps with balance and coordination, helps to develop the whole lower extremity

Babkin-Palmomental

 Stimulus: firm pressure on the center of the palm

 Response: results in mouth opening, neck flexion and chin tuck

 Purpose: supports the feeding reflex (helps sucking, swallowing, biting, chewing), helps

with hand to mouth coordination, influences ATNR integration, hand-tongue and articulation coordination

Landau

 Stimulus: is the core

 Response: when the head extends, the arms and legs extend also against gravity; when head flexes, the arms and legs flex with gravity

 Purpose: strengthens muscle tone by strengthening the extensors, develops vestibular- ocular motor skills by facilitating horizontal and vertical orientation, binocular vision, and hearing, helps develop balance

Tonic/Brainstem reflex

These reflexes develop 2nd and affect posture and tone:

 Associated reactions

 Positive supporting

 Tonic labyrinthine reflex (TLR)

 Asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR)

 Symmetrical tonic neck reflex (STNR)

Associated reactions

Involuntary reaction due to a voluntary stimulus

Examples:

Yawning makes the involved arm move

Resisting hip adduction on non-involved side and the

other involved side will move

Positive Support reflex

 Stimulus: weight of the infant on the feet when supported

 Response: causes the infant to bear some weight on the legs

 Purpose: preparation for gait and pelvic girdle strengthening

Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR)

 Stimulus: supine or prone

 Response: in supine-the head, back, arms, and legs all extend; in prone-the head, back, arms and legs will flex

 Purpose: begins to prepare infant for sitting, helps with balance; development of muscle tone; impaired ability to dev anti-gravity movt; integration of vestibular and visual systems

Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR)

 Stimulus: neck position

 Response: in quadruped, when neck extends, the arms extend and legs flex; when neck flexes, the arms flex and legs extend

 Purpose: preparation for crawling, allows reaching and weight shift to facilitate balance and trunk stability, begins to work on visual accommodation by rocking back and forth; helps integrate TLR

Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR)

 Stimulus: head turning to the side

 Response: arm and leg extension on the side the face is turned and elbow and hip flexion on the occipital side

 Purpose: development of eye-hand coordination, dev asymmetrical cross lateral movements and rotation, foundation for auditory processes and language, differentiation between hemispheres, specialization of executive functions , dev of limb dominance

What are interventions for reflexes?

 Whole brain activities-Brain gym, Bal-A-Vis X

 Isometric exercise within the reflex before active play

 First you want to see the full reflex then work on voluntary control

 Work on separating out the reflex pattern-exercises specific for certain reflex

 Reflex needs to become a choice (controlled) and not an involuntary movement

Backward protective extension

Extending arms to put arms out to keep from injury

*There is also sideways and forward