Infant Reflexes Flashcards
Rooting Reflex
-Purpose: searching for food
- Stimulus: stroking side of cheek/mouth
- Reaction: head turns towards stimulus
- Develops: 28 weeks g.
- Integrates: 3 months
Three types of postural reactions
- righting reactions
- postural reactions
- protective reactions
Righting reactions
Support positioning of the head vertically in space, alignment of the head and trunk and alignment of the trunk and limbs
Equilibrium reactions
provide balance when the center of gravity is disturbed
Protective reactions
involves movements of extension of the extremities in the same direction as the displacing force. Emerge first in the front, then the side, then backwards.
Suck-swallow Reflex
-Purpose: safe ingestion of food
- Stimulus: finger in baby’s mouth
- Reaction: rhythmic sucking pattern
- Develops: 28 weeks g.
- Integrates: 2-5 months
Traction Reflex
-Purpose: stabilizing the head before baby has voluntary control
- Stimulus: pull-to-sit by the forearms
- Reaction: flexion and elevation of the UE’s
- Develops: 28 weeks g.
- Integrates: 2-5 months
Moro reflex
-Purpose: involuntary response to unexpected stimuli (startle)
- Stimulus: suspend baby in supine, and drop head back
- Reaction: Extension and abduction of both UE’s, with opening of hands, THEN flexion and adduction of both UE’s
- Develops: 28 weeks g.
- Integrates: 4-6 months
Plantar grasp
-Purpose: increase tactile input to the foot in preparation for walking
- Stimulus: press thumb into ball of foot
- Reaction: toes flex
- Develops: 28 weeks
- Integrates: 9 months
Spinal Galant Reflex
-Purpose: balance and coordination for crawling and creeping; connected to bladder function
- Stimulus: suspend baby in prone, stroke finger along one side of spine from shoulder to buttocks
- Reaction: Lateral trunk flexion on the stimulated side and wrinkling of skin
- Develops: 32 weeks g.
- Integrates: 2 months
Asymmetric tonic neck reflex (ATNR)
-Purpose: one-handed movements, eye-hand coordination
- Stimulus: baby in supine, turn head to one side
- Reaction: extension of extremities on the face side and flexion of extremities on the skull side
- Develops: 37 weeks g.
- Integrates: 4-6 months
Palmar grasp
-Purpose: development of grasp
- Stimulus: place finger in baby’s palm
- Reaction: Involuntary grasp
- Develops: 37 weeks
- Integrates: 4-6 months
Tonic Labyrinthine - Supine
-Purpose: increase/refine extensor tone, practice balance, proprioceptive awareness, posture, coordination, head alignment
- Stimulus: Put baby in supine suspended, allow gravity to create extension
- Reaction: increase in extensor tone
- Develops: greater than 37 weeks g.
- Integrates: 6 months
Tonic Labyrinthine- prone
-Purpose: increase/refine flexor tone, practice balance, proprioceptive awareness, posture, coordination, head alignment
- Stimulus: place baby in prone suspended
- Reaction: increase in flexor tone
- Develops: greater than 37 weeks g.
- Integrates: 6 months
Labyrinthine/optical (head) righting
-Purpose: maintain head alignment when body is displaced
- Stimulus: hold infant vertically and tilt to the side/front/back
- Reaction: baby’s head remains upright and steady
- Develops: birth-2 years
- Integrates: persists
Landau “Superman”
-Purpose: breaks up flexor dominance
- Stimulus: prone suspension
- Reaction: complete extension of head, trunk, and extremities
- Develops: 3-4 months
- Integrates: 12-24 months
Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR)
-Purpose: precursor for crawling/creeping
- Stimulus:
- place baby in
quadruped; cervical
extension
- place baby in
quadruped; cervical
flexion w/ chin tuck
- Reaction:
- extension of arms and
flexion of LE’s
- flexion of arms and
extension of LE’s (bear
walk)
- Develops: 4-6 months
- Integrates: 8-12 months
Neck righting
-Purpose: initiates rolling
- Stimulus: baby in supine, turn head
- Reaction: entire body turns in direction of head
- Develops: 4-6 months
- Integrates: 5 years
Body righting
-Purpose: initiates rolling
- Stimulus: baby in supine, place hip over midline of body
- Reaction: pelvis and rest of body follows in a log roll
- Develops: 4-6 months
- Integrates: 5 years
Babinski Reflex
-Purpose: can indicate neurological disorder or injury in children > 2 years
- Stimulus: stroke bottom of foot from heel to base of toes
- Reaction: ext. of big toe, other toes fan out
- Develops: birth
- Integrates: 1 year
Downward parachute (protective downward extension)
Purpose: Prep for standing; breaking fall
Stimulus: child suspended vertically and is lowered quickly to simulate a fall
Reaction: Extension of LE’s
Develops: 4 months
Integrates: Persists
Forward parachute (protective extension downward)
Purpose: prep for sitting; breaking/preventing fall
Stimulus: suddenly tip infant forward while vertically suspended
Reaction: Extension of the UE’s, hand opening, and neck extension- about to break a fall
Develops: 6-9 months
Integrates:Persists
Sideward parachute (protective extension sideward)
Purpose: prevent fall; increase support (arm extension) on side opposite force- stop from falling to the side
Stimulus: Tip infant off-balance to side
Reaction: Arm extension and abd to the side
Develops: 7 months
Integrates: Persists
Backward parachute (protective extension backward)
Purpose: Prevent fall
Stimulus: tip infant off-balance backward
Reaction: backward arm extension
Develops: 9-10 months
Integrates: Persists
