Primitive Reflexes

Excerpt

Primitive reflexes are involuntary motor responses originating in the brainstem present after birth in early child development that facilitate survival. Several reflexes are important in the assessment of newborns and young infants. These central nervous system motor responses are eventually inhibited by 4 to 6 months of age as the brain matures and replaces them with voluntary motor activities but may return with the presence of neurological disease.