Reflexes of the Infancy

Blog #3

DELOS SANTOS, Jose Raphael M.

March 19, 2015
Reflexes are involuntary movements of our body and are activated through
the reflex arc. It happens first by the stimulation of the sensory receptors or organs
like the Merkel cells and Pacinian receptors of the skin and the Golgi tendon organ
of the tendons of our joints. The impulse it generates is brought by the sensory
neurons to the central nervous system, mostly to the spinal cord, brain stem and
the cerebellum, where it is integrated and amplified, and then relayed to the motor
neurons to the effector organs like the muscles.
We all have these reflexes even before we are born but they fade as our
nervous system matures and as the myelination of the axons propagate which
allows a shift from involuntary to voluntary control of most of those reflexes and
provide the window for neurological development. However, some of these stay
with us our whole life. They serve and function as our protective mechanisms from
harm in our environment and especially allow infants to protect themselves even
without thinking.
Some of these reflexes of the infants are the rooting reflex, the sucking reflex,
the grasping reflex and the moro reflex.
The rooting reflex is essential for the baby because it facilitates feeding. This
is stimulated by touching the cheeks or the lower lip of the child. The child, in
return, responds by facing to the direction where the rub is coming and opens his
mouth and feeding can now be introduced. This usually disappears by the ninth
month of the baby but some may even have it disappeared by the fourth month.
The sucking reflex is also essential for it ensures that the baby feeds when he
is being fed. This is stimulated by the placement of anything such as a nipple, a
finger or a pacifier on the mouth of the neonate. The baby responds by sucking to
that object in the burst-pause pattern, meaning they suck first in a vigorous and
successive manner and then pause for some time then continue again with sucking.
This reflex usually disappears by 2 months as they gain control over it.
Next, the grasping reflex, which is thought to be an evolutionary legacy from
the primates because this makes it possible for the infant monkeys to stay holding
on their mothers fur, is the foundation for the complex skill of grabbing and letting
go. This is stimulated by an object placed on the hands of the baby. This reflex
changes, or more properly should I say that, develops from time to time as the baby
grows. First, it is a palmar grasp where the baby uses the whole of his hand to hold
things. Next, it develops to a mitten grasp where the baby can now use his thumb
separately with his other fingers. Then, the last is the pincer grasp where the baby

can now use his thumb and his index to pick up things. By the way, this
reflex(grasping) is so strong that it can raise the child when he is made to hold on to
a rod.
The last reflex is the moro reflex. This is also thought to have an evolutionary
root to the primates because this enables the monkeys to grasp on for safety when
they fall of the treetop. The gravity is what this needs to be stimulated. Hold the
baby horizontally and simulate a falling movement. The baby will extend his arms
and leg like he is finding a branch to hold on to. This usually weakens by the fifth
month and disappears completely by the eight month.
The said reflexes have adaptive imparts on the child but there are also some
that just provide the window for neurological development that usually disappears
completely with age like the Babinski reflex where the toes of the baby fan out
when the sole of the feet is stroked, tonic neck where the baby extends his arm and
leg to the same side where the baby is facing, stepping where the baby steps
rhythmically when induced to even when he is not really walking yet and plantar
reflex where all the toes of the baby plantar flex when there is an applied pressure
to the heel of the foot; and some that stays permanently with the individual like the
blinking, gag and the withdrawal reflexes.
These reflexes are so important because, given that it allows us to react
against threats without thinking, it also gives information about the status of the
development of the child especially the development of his nervous system. This
allows us to know whether there are delays in the development of the baby.

References
Papalia, D., Olds, S. W. & Feldman, R. D. (2009). Human development. New York,
USA: Mc Graw Hill