Tonic Labyrinthine And Neck Reflexes

Question 1

What are primitive reflexes?

Answer 1

• Primitive reflexes are innate, automatic motor patterns and reactions emerging during fetal life until after birth crucial for an infant’s survival.

Question 2

What is the function of primitive reflexes?

Answer 2

• The primary function of primitive reflexes is to allow the infant to move and react to their environment leading to the maturation of the motor system
> Children need to move, feed, protect, and orient to engage their senses and muscles and create sensory and motor feedback that will activate genes allowing the brain to be built from the bottom up

Question 3

Describe the grasp reflexes, what it indicates and what it’s retention will cause?

Answer 3

• Palmar (fingers), plantar (toes)
The palmar grasp reflex and the plantar grasp reflex can be elicited in all infants during the first 3 and 6 months of age, respectively.
• Their disappearance signifies cortical maturation and the development of voluntary, motor milestones
• A reduced or negative plantar grasp reflex during early infancy can be a sensitive indicator of later development of spasticity
• Retention results in poor fine motor skills

Question 4

Describe the rooting reflex, what it indicates and what it’s retention causes?

Answer 4

act of breastfeeding and is activated by stroking a baby’s cheek (corner of the mouth), causing them to turn and open the mouth and thrust out the tongue
• Gets the baby read to suck
• Present at birth (around 28 weeks of gestation) and disintegrates about 4 to 6 months until the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex matures
• Retention may result in difficulty with solid foods, poor articulation, and thumb sucking

Question 5

Describe the sucking reflex, what it indicates and what it’s retention causes?

Answer 5

• Seen from 13-16 weeks gestation and integrates by 12 months of age
• Plays a pivotal role not only in competent oral feeding of the baby but also in coordinating effective breathing and swallowing
• Absence may indicate neurological impairment e.g. hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
• Retention may result in speech impairment, trouble chewing and swallowing, movement of the tongue when executing hand movements, lisp from overbite