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There are some 16 primitive reflexes that I test for. Here is a list of the most significant, their function and the effects they can have when retained beyond their normal lifespan.
Moro Reflex
Emerges 9-32 weeks in utero
Inhibits 2-4 months of life (NB this is the accepted timescale, but in my experience it can be up to 2 years before it is fully inhibited)
Stimulus and response In response to sudden sensory stimulation - sound, change of light, heavy touch, pain, temperature change, change of head position (disrupting balance) - a baby will arch its head back, swing its arms up and out, spreading the hands and fingers and taking a gasp of air. After a momentary freeze, it curls forward, pulls its legs up, folds its arms across its chest and cries out. The Moro activates the fight or flight response, resulting in an adrenaline and cortisol rush, increased rate of breathing, increased heart rate, rise in blood pressure, reddening of the skin.
Function In utero, helps develop baby's breathing mechanism, and gives it sudden energy and adrenaline to kick its way down the birth canal. In life, facilitates the first breath and opens windpipe; thereafter aids survival in the vulnerable first few months of life, by alerting others to the infant's potential danger.
NB The Adult Startle, or Strauss reflex, is simply a tensing of the muscles, a blink, and a turn of the head to check for the source of disturbance.
Effect when retained
Another key reflex that locks you into a permanent state of fight or flight, seemingly over-reacting to any perceived threat from sudden or extreme noise, light, movement, etc. If the foetus is in a constant state of stress in the first few months while the hormonal system is developing, this can set the hormonal levels for life, resulting in poor stress tolerance and over-adrenalisation.
When in survival mode you are less able to maintain focus and perspective, which may result in an aggressive, over-excitable, impulsive temperament. Alternatively, you may withdraw from challenging and social situations. On the plus side, you may be acutely sensitive, perceptive and imaginative - the artistic temperament.
A persistent Moro means eye muscles draw eyes to the periphery of your vision when on alert for potential danger, resulting in difficulty in focusing on the centre of your vision, giving problems with reading. Equally, especially with busy print layouts, eyes cannot ignore irrelevant visual material, making it almost impossible to concentrate on one section of print long enough to take in the information.
Potential Symptoms
- Easily overwhelmed
- Physically timid/overly aggressive, or swinging from one to the other
- Difficulty focusing/concentrating on written matter
- Poor pupillary reaction to light - tendency not to contract enough in bright light, or dilate enough in dim light (poor night vision; dislike of bright sunlight or overhead lights; difficulty with night driving)
- Migraines, headaches and tiredness (due to artificial light and tension)
- Auditory confusion (difficulty shutting out background noise, making it difficult to concentrate)
- Poor immunity (adrenaline and cortisol are defences against allergy and infection, but if in constant use, may cease to be effective for immune system)
- Controlling
- General anxiety
- Low tolerance to change, stress, sudden unexpected events
- Highly excitable, unable to switch off and relax
- Moody (burns up blood sugar quickly, so may become hypoglycaemic); swinging between hyperactivity and exhaustion
- Poor stamina
- Insecurity, dependency
- Difficulty accepting criticism
- DIfficulty accepting/giving affection
- Sudden temper
- Impulsive behaviour
- Poor decision-making skills (bombarded by information, so difficult to prioritise and focus)
- Emotional volatility (especially when in a safe home environment), ‘over'-sensitive and ‘over'-reactive
- Low self-esteem
- Tense muscle tone (protective body armour)
- Fear of contact/ball sports
Palmar Reflex (infant grasp)
Emerges 11 weeks in utero
Inhibits 2-3 months of life (replaced by pincer grip at about 3 months)
Stimulus and response Light touch to palm of hand results in fingers closing/grasping the object of stimulation. There is also a link with sucking, which activates the Palmar, causing hands to knead the breast to facilitate feeding
Function To prompt a tiny baby to cling to its mother if she had to flee from danger
Effect when retained
Adversely affects handwriting, speech and fine muscle control. Child automatically moves mouth when involved in activity using hands, such as drawing; this prevents development of independent muscle control of the tongue and at front of mouth, affecting articulation. Interferes with independent thumb and finger movements.
Potential symptoms
- poor manual dexterity
- poor handwriting, pencil grip
- speech difficulties, poor articulation
- hypersensitive palms
Plantar Reflex
Emerges 11 weeks in utero
Inhibits 7-9 months of life
Stimulus and response Stroking the lateral part of the sole of the foot with a fairly sharp object produces plantar flexion of the big toe; often there is also flexion and adduction of the other toes.
Function Facilitates kicking movements, muscle tone and stimulates the vestibular system (which controls balance). Assists the birth process.
Effect when retained Impedes creeping on tummy and cross-pattern crawling which is important for hand-eye coordination and the integration of the vestibular information with other senses. Affects balance, laterality, visual-perceptual difficulties, handwriting and written expression.
Potential symptoms
* poor foot muscle tone
* poor dorsiflexion
* high instep
* inabilty to fine tune balance
* hypersensitive feet
Rooting Reflex and Suck Reflex
Emerges 24-28 weeks in utero
Inhibits 3-4 months of life
Stimulus and response Light touch of cheek or edge of mouth causes baby to turn towards stimulus, and open its mouth with extended tongue, ready to suck
Function To help baby latch on to breast to feed, then to suck and swallow. (NB rooting reflex is at its strongest in the first two hours after birth, but if baby is not given breast or bottle during this time, the reflex can weaken and fail to integrate and inhibit.)
Effect when retained
Results in immature muscle development of the structure of the mouth and tongue, affecting swallowing, feeding, speech, articulation and manual dexterity (see Palmar Reflex).
Potential symptoms
* Tendency to dribble beyond toddler age
* Poor articulation
* Tendency to chew pencil or other objects while concentrating
* Needs oral gratification - may suck thumb, bite fingernails, smoke
* Chews food noisily
* Fussy eating habits (likes mild-flavoured, soft-textured foods as difficulty with chewing and swallowing)
* Need for orthodontic treatment
* Over-sensitive to touch on cheek and mouth
* Fearful of separation from security
* Poor manual dexterity
 Spinal Galant
Emerges 20 weeks in utero
Inhibits 3-9 months of life (starts to inhibit as child starts crawling on hands and knees)
Stimulus and response A light stroke to either left or right side of lower back causes hip to rotate towards the same side. Where SG is still active, the upper torso tends to jerk to the same side at the same time as the hip.
Function To assist the infant in wriggling and pushing through the birth canal. Plays an essential part in development of cross-lateral movement.
Effect when retained
May affect posture and gait, with hip rotation to either side when walking and uneven wear and tear on joints, arthritic hips later in life. Responsible for fidgeting, poor concentration and short-term memory (the constant irritant of SG diverts the child's attention). Difficulty in using diaphragm due to tension, resulting in shallow breathing and under-oxygenation of brain, constrained vocal tone. Stimulating both sides at same time can activate a related reflex, causing child to urinate or defecate. Often triggered at night through contact with bedding, when child's muscles are relaxed and can't counteract the effect of the stimulus through tension as they do during day. Tickling may have same effect. In adults it may manifest as irritable bowel syndrome. (People with a strong SG often had Caesarean or precipitive birth.)
Potential symptoms
• Enuresis (bed-wetting)
• Fidgeting
• Unable to sit up straight (chair back stimulates SG and makes person wriggle or slide down to slanted position to avoid touching chair back)
• Extreme ticklishness
• Dislike of elastic waistbands, or labels inside the waistband
• Poor concentration and short-term memory, making it difficult to take in and process information
• Lopsided rolling gait when walking or running
• Homolateral movements when walking, marching, skipping, instead of cross-pattern movements
• Poor mobility in sports
• Low back pain or discomfort (from persistent tension of muscles to counteract effect of reflex)
• Shallow breathing, constrained vocal tone
• Dislike of seats with lumbar support; preference for stools or kneeling chairs
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Sexual dysfunction
• Wear and tear on hip joints
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR)
Emerges 18 weeks in utero
Inhibits 6-9 months of life (so that focus on distant objects can develop)
Stimulus and response When baby's head is turned to one side, limbs on the same side extend and those on the opposite side flex
Function To stimulate the vestibular (balance) mechanism, increase neural connections and develop muscle tone. If fully developed (ie if pregnancy has reached full term), ATNR assists birth process with kicking/shoulder/arm movement, and is reinforced by birth, helping it to integrate and subsequently inhibit naturally. Develops eye-hand coordination, trains one side of the body at a time; extends ability to focus from 17 cm to arms length, ensures free passage of air when baby is in the prone position, increases extensor muscle tone.
Effect when retained
A key reflex which is, according to the School of Psychology at Queen's University Belfast, the most commonly observed persistent primary reflex in young children with motor problems. Their recent study found a high incidence of poor reading and motor skills in those with a retained ATNR. Responsible for linked eye-hand movements, making driving, cycling, writing and other activities a problem since looking in a direction results in the limbs on that side wanting to extend or stiffen and fingers wanting to open. Failure to establish a dominant hand/eye/leg/ear, resulting in hesitant movements and inability to filter information into left/right brain tasks, which creates confusion and overload. Affects the ability of the eyes and hands to move horizontally across the mid-line of the body - thus poor reading, handwriting and expression of ideas on paper.
Potential symptoms
* Mixed laterality (eg right-handed, left-footed) or ambidexterity
* Poor hand-eye coordination
* Poor upper/lower limb and body coordination
* Poor motor skills
* Poor horizontal eye tracking
* Difficulty reading and writing
* Poor distant vision
* Problems with balance
* Poor at sports
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) Forwards
Emerges 12 weeks in utero
Inhibits 3-4 months of life
Stimulus and response Stimulation of the labyrinths and vestibular (balance) system activates TLR. Movement of head far forwards causes legs to flex and body to curl into classic foetal position (the earliest manifestation of TLR).
Function Develops muscle tone from head downwards, paving way for controlled head movement by 6 months; plays essential part in development of balance and movement
Effect when retained
Because of the head-leg link, when knees bend, the head automatically comes forward, and vice versa, resulting in odd postures, an inability to sit up straight, difficulty swimming. Affects vestibular system and ability to find a secure reference point in space - making it difficult to judge distance, space and speed. Prevents head-righting reflexes from developing properly, which in turn affects vision and balance.
Potential symptoms
- Poor sense of balance, space and depth
- Motion sickness
- Vertigo (head looking down and passing centre of gravity makes knees bend and creates sensation of falling forwards)
- Poor vertical eye tracking
- Slouching posture and poor muscle tone
- Tension in neck and shoulders
- Visual-perceptual difficulties (problems sorting conflicting visual information eg when crossing a slatted bridge)
- Poor sequencing skills
- Poor sense of time
- Dislike of sports, physical activities
- Foreshortening of hamstrings, carpal and Achilles tendons
The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) Backwards
Emerges at birth
Inhibits 6 weeks to 3 years of life (inhibits gradually)
Stimulus and response Movement of the head far backwards causes immediate extension of arms and legs
Function To help baby push down the birth canal, and to help newborn to straighten out from foetal position and develop muscle tone and balance. A bridge that's necessary for the development of STNR, Landau reflex and postural reflexes
Effect when retained
Problems with vestibular system, affecting balance, coordination and orientation. Stiff jerky movements due to leg muscles wanting to extend more than flex.
Potential symptom
- Motion sickness
- Spatial problems
- May impede creeping and crawling (upward movement of head makes legs extend)
- Leaden leg movements
- Tendency to tiptoe
- ‘Growing pains' in legs
- Slumping in seat
- Poor organisational skills
- Foreshortening of hamstrings, carpal and Achilles tendons
- Tip toe walking
Reflexes - Primitive Reflexes - Infant Reflexes - Postural Reflexes
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The Reflexes 