The Evolution of Primitive Reflexes in Extremely Premature Infants

Allen, Marilee C; Capute, Arnold J.

doi:10.1203/00006450-198612000-00018

Cited by 171 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These can be elicited in an infant supported under the arms in an upright, slightly tilted forward posture, after contacting ground with the feet soles [6 ,25]. Reflex stepping has been reported also in premature infants at 30+ post-conception weeks [26] and anencephalic newborns [27]. This suggests a predominant role of spinal and brainstem mechanisms, owing to immature cerebral connections to the spinal cord [28].…”

Section: Postnatal Development Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of human locomotion

Lacquaniti¹,

Ivanenko²,

Zago³

2012

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

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Neural control of locomotion in human adults involves the generation of a small set of basic patterned commands directed to the leg muscles. The commands are generated sequentially in time during each step by neural networks located in the spinal cord, called Central Pattern Generators. This review outlines recent advances in understanding how motor commands are expressed at different stages of human development. Similar commands are found in several other vertebrates, indicating that locomotion development follows common principles of organization of the control networks. Movements show a high degree of flexibility at all stages of development, which is instrumental for learning and exploration of variable interactions with the environment

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Section: Postnatal Development Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of human locomotion

Lacquaniti¹,

Ivanenko²,

Zago³

2012

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

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“…A marked lateral head preference can therefore promote asymmetric movements in early infancy. This may be related to the asymmetric tonic neck reflex (when the infant's head is turned to the side, limbs on the occiput side flex and on the face side extend) in preterm infants from 30 weeks PMA until it is suppressed by higher cortical function at 4-6 months from term [Allen and Capute, 1986b;.…”

Section: Positioning and Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By 30 weeks gestation, most of the primitive reflexes seen in full term infants are evident in preterm infants [Allen and Capute, 1986b]. This includes the tonic labyrinthine, in which the trunk and legs extend and shoulders retract with neck extension and neck flexion leads to lower extremity flexion and shoulder protraction.…”

Section: Positioning and Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurodevelopmental care in the NICU

Aucott

Donohue

Atkins

et al. 2002

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

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Neurodevelopmental care, which is any NICU intervention undertaken to improve neurodevelopmental outcome, includes NICU design, nursing routines, nursing care plans, management of pain, feeding methods and, most importantly, encouraging parental involvement with their NICU infant. Recognition that sensory stimulation can overwhelm preterm infants and increase physiologic signs of stress led to attempts to reduce sensory input. More recent approaches judiciously add back soothing sensory input (e.g., therapeutic touch, soft music). Circadian light/dark cycles and physical activity improve preterm growth. Attention to infant positioning and handling affects physiologic variables and joint mobility, if not functional motor abilities. A highly organized system of care for NICU infants is Als' NIDCAP (i.e., Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program). Although NIDCAP may reduce need for respiratory support and hospital length of stay, it does not significantly influence neurodevelopmental outcome at 2-3 years. Pain management includes benign interventions (e.g., nonnutritive sucking, oral glucose), but the prolonged use of narcotics must be balanced against the consequences of sedation and dependency. The foremost challenge for NICUs remains parent disenfranchisement. Kangaroo care, which involves parent/infant skin-to-skin contact, improves preterm growth, decreases nosocomial infections and may shorten hospital length of stay. A great deal of work needs to be done to identify and demonstrate efficacy of specific interventions and changes that humanize the NICU, encourage parental involvement, support infant development and optimize preterm neurodevelopmental outcomes.

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“…According to current evidence brain functions in their developmental stages are particularly vulnerable to postnatal developmental deficits that likely may have various etiological backgrounds (Teicher, Tomoda, & Andersen, 2006;Fagiolini, Jensen, & Champagne, 2009;Kolb & Gibb, 2011) and may cause persisting of the so-called primitive reflexes (Allen & Capute, 1986;Zafeiriou, 2004;Sanders & Gillig, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retained Primitive Reflexes and ADHD in Children

Konicarova

Bob

2012

Act Nerv Super

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Particularly important postnatal developmental reflexes that diminish in later stages of development are Moro reflex and Galant reflex that belong among the so-called primitive reflexes. According to current evidence persistence of the primitive reflexes is related to certain specific neuropsychiatric disorders. According to current knowledge there is no evidence whether these reflexes play a role in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To develop these findings we have tested a hypothesis whether ADHD children in the school age (8-11 years) will have higher level of persisting primitive reflexes Moro and Galant compared to a control group of children of the same age. Results of this study show that ADHD children have high occurrence of primitive reflexes compared to the control group, which indicates that ADHD symptoms may present a compensation of unfinished developmental stages related to diminishing Moro and Galant reflexes.

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The Evolution of Primitive Reflexes in Extremely Premature Infants

Cited by 171 publications

References 11 publications

Development of human locomotion

Development of human locomotion

Neurodevelopmental care in the NICU

Retained Primitive Reflexes and ADHD in Children

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