Primitive Reflexes, What Are They and Why Are They Important?
An example of the palmar reflex, when a baby grasps anything that touches their palm.
When we think of reflexes, many of us may picture the doctor tapping our knee with a mallet and causing our leg to kick. That leg movement is out of the brain’s control, it just happens in response to being tapped in that spot below the knee. This is the definition of a reflex, a movement pattern that bypasses the brain. The stimulus, in this case, being tapped firmly below the knee, causes a motor output, kicking the leg. Primitive reflexes are no different except the motor outputs are more subtle, so many people have no idea what they are.
This image is an example of the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex, where the baby’s arm extends when they turn their head.
Primitive reflexes are certain movement patterns that develop in the womb. Every baby is born with them. Each reflex serves the purpose of helping the infant learn a specific motor skill such as hand eye coordination, using their hands, postural control, and crawling to name a few. There are six primitive reflexes we typically test for:
Palmar Reflex - Helps newborns learn to use their hands
Moro Reflex – Turns into our startle reflex and encourages infants to grab onto their caregivers if they feel the sensation of falling
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR) – Helps infants gain control over their head and neck
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) – Promotes hand eye coordination and initiates crawling
Spinal Galant Reflex – Helps the baby wiggle through the birth canal
Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) – Helps dissociate between the upper body and lower body and helps promote crawling
Once the infant has learned the skill corresponding with the reflex, the reflexes start to integrate or in other words, fade away. Each of these reflexes should be integrated by the age of two. Sometimes a few reflexes stick around into childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood. When this happens, it’s called retaining a primitive reflex. It’s quite common that one or two reflexes may be retained in any given child, adolescent, or adult.
How Do We Know If a Reflex Has Been Retained?
There are certain tests that a trained professional can perform to see if any there are signs of retained primitive reflexes. These tests usually involve putting the body into certain positions and turning the head in various directions to see how the body reacts. Very subtle movements in response to head positions can indicate that a reflex has been retained. There are varying degrees of retainment. If the movement in response to the head position is very big, the reflex might be significantly retained. If the movement in response to the head position is small, the reflex might be mildly retained. If there is no movement in response to the head position, then we consider the reflex integrated.
So why do we care if a reflex has been retained? The short answer is, we may not. There can be certain symptoms or side effects of a reflex being retained such as difficulties regulating emotions, sensory sensitivities, poor motor planning/coordination, low fine motor strength/endurance, or difficulties with handwriting to name a few. If an individual’s body shows a positive sign of a reflex when tested, but demonstrates no symptoms of the retained reflex, then we may not care that person has retained that reflex. If a person shows positive signs of a retained reflex and demonstrates two or more symptoms associated with that reflex, then we may want to consider working on integrating that reflex.
How Do We Integrate a Retained Primitive Reflex?
There are simple exercises that closely resemble yoga poses to help integrate each reflex. Each exercise takes no more than five minutes to complete. It’s recommended that the exercise is completed twice a day for 30 days for effective reflex integration. It may take more or less than 30 days for the reflexive to fully integrate. Once it’s integrated, the exercises can be stopped. However, there is a chance that the reflex can creep back once the exercises have been discontinued. If this happens, we recommend beginning the exercises again.
Retained primitive reflexes are often just one piece of the puzzle for individuals who exhibit emotional regulation challenges, sensory processing difficulties, or decreased motor coordination/endurance. It takes a trained professional such as an occupational therapist or physical therapist to assess and prescribe appropriate exercises for retained primitive reflexes. If you think you or your child demonstrates retained primitive reflexes, contact us to schedule a free consultative phone call.