Réflexes et petite enfance

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The sudden infant death syndrome induced by "the fear paralysis reflex'?

Kaada B.

Med Hypotheses. 1987 Apr;22(4):347-56.

 

Abstract

The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the greatest single cause of death between one month and one year of age in industrial countries. Its etiology still remains a mystery despite extensive research during the past decades. The outstanding problem is to define the trigger mechanism leading to death. Most theories have dealt with bodily malfunctions, infections and toxic agents, and only minor attention has been paid to a possible psychical trigger mechanism. The hypothesis is advanced that the so-called 'fear paralysis reflex' (for other terms, see below), an atavistic reflex present in the entire animal kingdom, may be a major trigger mechanism for SIDS. The reflex is evoked by fear resulting from any threatening event which is perceived as a danger, and with which the organism is unable to cope, typically in a predator confrontation. Important threatening stimuli in animals, and which may be of particular importance in human infants, are restraint of movement, sudden and unfamiliar noises, separation from the mother and companions, and sudden exposure to an unfamiliar environment. The main response characteristics are an immediate motor 'paralysis' (prolonged and generalized immobility), unresponsiveness, and abrupt and profound bradycardia. The latter may proceed to asystole and fatal cardiac arrythmias. Any hypothesis attempting to explain the cause of SIDS must account for the unique age distribution of SIDS' victims with a peak age incidence at 2-4 months, its frequent occurrence in REM sleep, and the observation that most deaths are silent. Further, it must be consistent with previously established risk factors (genetic determination, opiate-addicted mothers and cigarette smoking). The fear paralysis hypothesis is in accordance with all these facts, and it suggests new and potentially hazardous triggering mechanisms which, one recognized, possibly can be avoided. As a central reflex, it does not leave any trace in the organism, which explains the negative postmortem findings. Suggestions for testing the hypothesis are given, and possible preventive measures are presented.

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Réflexes et TDAH

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Principle of Dissolution and Primitive Reflexes in ADHD

Jana Konicarova, Petr Bob

Activitas Nervosa Superior 2013, 55, No. 1-2

 

Abstract

According to current findings, in the history of neurology proposed by Hughlings Jackson, certain later developed functions during ontogenesis of the central nervous system (CNS) tend to replace the older ones. In this context, recent and historical findings suggest that certain later developed cognitive and motor functions during brain ontogenesis related to higher levels of coordination tend to replace the older ones and their persistence is linked to various neuropsychiatric disorders. Particularly important functional disturbances in ADHD developed early in life likely linked to dissolution process are balance deficits linked to dysfunctions of higher levels of coordination related to neurophysiological and mental functions that typically occur in ADHD.  In this context, recent data suggest that one of the important aspects of normal development that may play a role in ADHD is suppression of the so-called primitive reflexes. Taken together these data suggest that ADHD symptoms may present a compensatory process related to interference of more primitive neural mechanism, as related to primitive reflexes, with higher levels of brain functions linked to coordination and balance due to insufficiently developed cognitive and motor integration.

 

Retained Primitive Reflexes and ADHD in Children

Jana Konicarova, Petr Bob

Activitas Nervosa Superior 2012, 54, No. 3-4

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Abstract

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.

 

Primitive Reflexes and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Developmental Origins of Classroom Dysfunction

Taylor, Myra; Houghton, Stephen; Chapman, Elaine

International Journal of Special Education, v19 n1 p23-37 2004

 

The present research studied the symptomatologic overlap of AD/HD behaviours and retention of four primitive reflexes (Moro, Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex [TLR], Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex [ATNR], Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex [STNR]) in 109 boys aged 7-10 years. Of these, 54 were diagnosed with AD/HD, 34 manifested sub-syndromal coordination, learning, emotional and/or behavioural symptoms of AD/HD, and 21 had no (or near to no) symptoms of AD/HD. Measures of AD/HD symptomatology and of the boys' academic performance were also obtained using the Conners' rating scale and the WRAT-3, respectively. Results indicated that, in general, boys diagnosed with AD/HD had significantly higher levels of reflex retention than non-diagnosed boys. Results also indicated both direct and indirect relationships between retention of the Moro, ATNR, STNR and TLR reflexes with AD/HD symptomatology and mathematics achievement. The pattern of relationships between these variables was also consistent with the notion of the Moro acting as a gateway for the inhibition of the other three reflexes.

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Réflexes et troubles d'apprentissages

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The relationship between gross motor skills and academic achievement in children with learning disabilities

Marieke Westendorp, Esther Hartman, Suzanne Houwen, Joanne Smith

Research in Developmental Disabilities  Volume 32, Issue 6, November–December 2011, Pages 2773–2779

 

Abstract

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading, spelling, and mathematics were examined in children with learning disabilities. As expected, the children with learning disabilities scored poorer on both the locomotor and object-control subtests than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, in children with learning disabilities a specific relationship was observed between reading and locomotor skills and a trend was found for a relationship between mathematics and object-control skills: the larger children's learning lag, the poorer their motor skill scores. This study stresses the importance of specific interventions facilitating both motor and academic abilities.

 

 

Neuro-motor Maturity as an Indicator of Developmental Readiness for Education

Sally Goddard Blythe

Paper presented at The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology Conference. April 11th and 12th 2010. Miami. Florida.

 

Abstract

Two independent projects were undertaken with 64 children in schools in Northumberland and Berkshire to investigate whether neuro-motor immaturity, defined by the continued presence of three primitive reflexes, was present in children in mainstream primary schools in the United Kingdom. Children were also assessed for performance in reading, writing, spelling, maths and drawing using SATS results or the Salford Sentence Reading Test.

In Northumberland, 52 children age 7 – 8 years were divided into two intervention groups: One group took part in a daily programme of developmental movements (The INPP Programme); the other group participated in a less specific programme of daily physical exercises (The Activate Programme) for one academic year. 

In Berkshire, 12 children who had been identified as under-performing in reading, spelling or handwriting were assessed using the Salford Sentence Reading Test. Six children participated in The INPP Programme at school every day for one academic year. The results of both groups on the Salford Reading Test were compared at the end of the year.
The results indicated that neuro-motor immaturity was present in 88.5% of children age 7–8 years and 40 % of children age 4-6 years in the Northumberland sample. There was a correlation between higher scores on tests for retained primitive reflexes and lower performance on the Draw a Person test. Children in the INPP group in the Northumberland study showed a significantly greater decrease in scores for abnormal reflexes (an indication of increased maturity in neuro-motor skills) than children in the Activate group following intervention. There was no significant difference between the INPP and Activate groups on SATS scores for reading, writing, spelling and maths.

Six children who followed The INPP Programme for one academic year in Berkshire showed significant improvements on the Salford Sentence Reading Test at the end of the year compared to six children who did not take part in The INPP Programme.

 

 

Primary reflex persistence in children with reading difficulties (dyslexia): A cross-sectional study

Martin McPhillips,, Julie-Anne Jordan-Black

Neuropsychologia, 45(4)(4), 748-754. 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.08.005

 

Abstract

The primary reflex system emerges during fetal life and is inhibited during the first year after birth. Our aim was to examine the effects of persistence of this early neurological system on the attainment of core literacy skills in dyslexic and non-dyslexic poor readers. We assessed the prevalence of a persistent primary reflex in a cross-sectional, representative sample of children (n = 739) aged 7–9 years old attending mainstream primary school in Northern Ireland using standardised educational tests, and a clinical diagnostic test for a primary reflex (the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR)). Multiple regression analyses, involving all of the sample children, revealed that persistence of the ATNR was significantly predictive of attainments in reading (t = −8.34, p < .001), spelling (t = −8.00, p < .001), non-word reading (t = −16.15, p < .001), and verbal IQ (t = −4.71, p < .001). ANOVA tests revealed that there were no differences between the performance of dyslexic and non-dyslexic poor readers on any of the outcome measures (reading (F(1, 289) = 0.51, p = .48), spelling (F(1, 289) = 0.02, p = .90), non-word reading (F(1, 289) = 0.76, p = .38), ATNR level (F(1, 289) = 2.54, p = .11)). Further ANOVA tests revealed that males had significantly higher levels of persistent reflex than females (F(1, 737) = 15.21, p < .001), and that children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds had significantly higher levels of reflex than children who were not socially disadvantaged (F(1, 737) = 20.84, p < .001). The findings suggest that for many children in mainstream schooling, the attainment of core educational skills may be affected by the persistence of a brainstem mediated reflex system that should have been inhibited in the first year after birth. Furthermore, these findings suggest that dyslexia is not a distinct category of poor reading, and that it may be more valid to term all poor readers as dyslexic irrespective of IQ.

 

 

Can Replicating Primary Reflex Movements Improve Reading Ability?

Timothy Wahlberg, PhD Dennis Ireland, OD, Med

Optom Vis Dev 2005;36(2):89-91

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Poorly integrated and inhibited primitive reflexes can impact an individual’s visual development, balance system and academic performance, most notably in the area of reading. Children diagnosed with reading learning disabilities were assessed in the areas of oculomotilities, tonic reflexes, balance and fine motor. They were also given a headache questionnaire. Students participated in a movement program designed to decrease the amount of primitive reflex present, improve the balance and visual systems and reading ability.

The study evaluated 22 students, ages 7 to 11, who were previously diagnosed with reading learning disabilities. All students were given a treatment program of repetition of primary reflex movements during one academic year.

Students showed a marked decrease in the presence of primitive reflexes, improved balance and oculomotilities, a decrease in headaches and improved reading fluency.

The study showed that students diagnosed with a reading disability may have persistent primitive reflexes, balance and oculomotor dysfunctions. A movement program can improve these dysfunctions and increase reading fluency.

 

 

A Summary of Individual Studies Carried Out Using the INPP Test Battery and Developmental Exercise Programme for use in Schools with Children with Special Needs.

Sally Goddard Blythe

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
Issue: Volume 11, Number 4 / October 2005
Pages: 415 – 432

 

Abstract

This paper provides a summary of findings from a series of independent studies that have been undertaken separately. The studies used a specific developmental test battery—the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) Developmental Test Battery for use in schools with children with special educational needs—with a total of 810 children, the object being to assess whether neurological dysfunction was a significant factor underlying academic achievement.

All children were tested using the INPP Developmental Test Battery together with additional standard educational measures to assess drawing and reading at the beginning and end of the programme. The progress of 339 children aged four to five years of age was tracked through the school year to see whether children with higher scores on the INPP Developmental Test Battery (indications of neurological dysfunction) performed less well academically at the end of the school year.

A smaller number of children in mainstream classes (235 children) aged 8–10 years undertook a specific programme of developmental exercises (The INPP Schools’ Developmental Exercise Programme) for 10 minutes a day under teacher supervision over the course of one academic year. Two hundred and five children aged 8–10 years also underwent the INPP Tests but did not take part in the Developmental Exercise Programme.

The third group acted as a control group. No pre-selection was made among these groups at the beginning of the study. One study included a fourth group of 31 children who were given non-specific exercises for the same time period each day as the experimental group (INPP exercises) to see whether general daily exercises were more or less effective than the specific INPP exercises. Children in this study were seven to nine years of age.

The results showed that the children who participated in the daily INPP exercises made significantly greater improvement on measures for neurological dysfunction, balance and coordination. Children who had scores of more than 25% on tests for neurological dysfunction and whose reading age was less than their chronological age at the outset also showed small but significantly greater progress in reading than children who did not take part in the programme.

 

 

Prevalence of persistent primary reflexes and motor problems in children with reading difficulties

M. McPhillips and N. Sheehy

Article first published online: 7 SEP 2004 DOI: 10.1002/dys.282

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Abstract

It has been shown that some children with reading difficulties have underlying developmental delay and that this may be related to the persistence of primary reflexes. This study investigated the prevalence of persistent primary reflexes in the ordinary primary school population and how this related to other cognitive and social factors. Three groups of 41 children were drawn from a representative, cross-sectional sample of 409 children (aged 9–10 years) attending 11 ordinary primary schools in N. Ireland. The three groups represented the bottom, middle and top 10% respectively of readers from the total sample population. The relative persistence (on a scale of 0 to 4) of the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) and the prevalence of motor difficulties were assessed for these 3 groups. The rôle of 5 predictor variables (verbal IQ, social deprivation, sex, month of birth and religious affiliation) in determining the reading level of the total sample was also investigated. It was found that the lowest reading group had a significantly higher mean level of ATNR (1.56 [95% CI 1.22–1.90]) compared with the middle reading group (0.56 [0.22–0.90]) and the top reading group (0.59 [0.25–0.92]). 17% of children in the lowest reading group had extremely high levels of the ATNR while 24% showed no presence of ATNR. This contrasted with 0% and 66%, respectively for both middle and top reading groups. It was also found that there was a significant difference between the lowest reading group and the top reading group on a standardised test of motor ability. Furthermore, there was evidence that ATNR persistence but not motor ability was associated with the sex of the child with boys, in particular, at risk. There was no evidence that ATNR persistence or motor ability was significantly associated with social deprivation. It was also found that there were no significant differences between dyslexic and non-dyslexic children with reading difficulties in motor (including balance) performance. This study highlights the high levels of primary reflex persistence in children with reading difficulties and it provides further evidence of the association between reading difficulties and movement difficulties in young children. However, while the implications for intervention are discussed, it is stressed that the persistence of primary reflexes cannot be used as a causal model for reading difficulties, including dyslexia. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 

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Neurological Dysfunction  as a Significant Factor in Children with Dyslexia

Blythe, Sally Goddard
The Journal of Behavioral Optometry, Volume 12, Number 6, 2001,  Page 145

 

Abstract

It is an accepted medical fact* that the continued presence of primitive reflexes above the age of six months and the absence or under-development of postural reflexes beyond three and a half years of age are reliable indicators of neurological dysfunction, which can affect both motor and perceptual development.   A series of  standardised neurological tests for abnormal reflexes were carried out on a sample of 54 children who had previously received an independent diagnosis of Dyslexia, to see if neurological dysfunction was a significant factor underlying their Dyslexic symptoms.  Additional tests were carried out to assess oculo-motor functioning, visual-perceptual performance and cerebellar involvement including dysdiadochokinesia to see if other areas related to motor development were also a significant factor in the sample.
Abnormal primitive and postural reflexes were found to be a universal underlying factor in this sample.  A high percentage of the sample also demonstrated difficulties with oculo-motor functioning, visual-perceptual skills and dysdiadochokinesia, suggesting a positive relationship between abnormal reflex activity and immature postural, motor and visual functioning.

 

 

Effects of replicating primary-reflex movements on specific reading difficulties in children: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial

M McPhillips, BSca, , , Prof PG Hepper, PhDa, G Mulhern, PhDa

Volume 355, Issue 9203, 12 February 2000, Pages 537–541

 

Children with specific reading difficulties have problems that extend beyond the range of underlying language-related deficits (eg, they have difficulties with balance and motor control). We investigated the role of persistent primary reflexes (which are closely linked in the earliest months of life to the balance system) in disrupting the development of reading skills.

We assessed the efficacy of an intervention programme based on replicating the movements generated by the primary-reflex system during fetal and neonatal life. A randomised, individually matched, double-blind, placebo-controlled design was used and children (aged 8–11 years) with persistent primary reflexes and a poor standard of reading were enrolled into one of three treatment groups: experimental (children were given a specific movement sequence); placebo-control (children were given non-specific movements); and control (no movements).                

From an initial sample of 98 children, 60 children, 20 in each group were matched on age, sex, verbal intelligence quotient (IQ), reading ability, and persistent asymmetrical tonic neck reflex. For asymmetrical tonic neck-reflex levels there was a significant (group by time) interaction (p<0·001). The experimental group showed a significant decrease in the level of persistent reflex over the course of the study (mean change -1·8 [95% CI -2·4 to -1·2], p<0·001), whereas the changes in the placebo-control and control groups were not significant (-0·2 [-0·9 to 0·6] and -0·4 [-0·9 to 0·2]).

This study provides further evidence of a link between reading difficulties and control of movement in children. In particular, our study highlights how the educational functioning of children may be linked to interference from an early neurodevelopmental system (the primary-reflex system). A new approach to the treatment of children with reading difficulties is proposed involving assessment of underlying neurological functioning, and appropriate remediation.

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Réflexes et autisme

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Infantile Reflexes Gone Astray in Autism

Philip Teitelbaum (1), Osnat B. Teitelbaum (1), Joshua Fryman (2), and Ralph Maurer (3)

,(1) Department of Psychology, Gainesville, FL 32611

(2) Computer Science Department, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

(3) Department of Child Psychiat

ry, University of Florida Medical School, Gainesville, FL 32610

 

Abstract

In the cases presented in this paper plus others we hypothesize that movement disturbances in infants can be interpreted as reflexes gone astray and may be early indicators for a diagnosis of autism. In the children reviewed some reflexes persist too long in infancy, whereas others first appear much later than they should. The asymmetrical tonic neck reflex is one reflex that may persist too long in autism. Head-verticalization in response to body tilt is a reflex that does not appear when it should in a subgroup of autistic-to-be infants. We suggest that it may be used by pediatricians to screen for neurological damage that may be a marker for a subgroup of autistic-to-be children, especially in families where there is a history of autism.

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Eshkol-Wachman movement notation in diagnosis: the early detection of Asperger's syndrome.

Teitelbaum O, Benton T, Shah PK, Prince A, Kelly JL, Teitelbaum P.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Aug 10;101(32):11909-14. Epub 2004 Jul 28.

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Abstract

The diagnostic criteria of Asperger's syndrome (AS), considered a part of the autistic spectrum disorder, are still unclear. A critical marker, which distinguishes AS from autism, is the presence of language. The ability of a child with AS to acquire and use language early results in the fact that AS usually is diagnosed much later than autism. Autism is not usually diagnosed until around the age of 3, whereas AS usually is not diagnosed until the child is 6 or 7 years of age. In the present article, using Eshkol-Wachman movement notation, we present evidence that abnormal movement patterns can be detected in AS in infancy. This finding suggests that AS can be diagnosed very early, independent of the presence of language. As shown earlier by us, almost all of the movement disturbances in autism can be interpreted as infantile reflexes "gone astray"; i.e., some reflexes are not inhibited at the appropriate age in development, whereas others fail to appear when they should. This phenomenon appears to apply to AS as well. Based on preliminary results, a simple test using one such reflex is proposed for the early detection of a subgroup of children with AS or autism.

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