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Plantar response during infancy
Insights
Infant plantar responses change from extensor to flexor. Nutritional supplements advanced this change in urban infants, while preterm infants showed delays.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The plantar response in infants is a key neurological indicator.
- Understanding typical development is crucial for identifying deviations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of the plantar response in infants.
- To compare plantar response development between urban and rural infants.
- To assess the impact of nutritional supplements and prematurity on this development.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies were conducted on full-term urban and rural infants.
- Plantar responses were observed and categorized as extensor or flexor.
- Infant groups included those receiving nutritional supplements and preterm infants.
Main Results:
- Full-term infants typically shift from extensor to flexor plantar response by the second half of infancy.
- Urban infants receiving nutritional supplements showed a 4-week advancement in this developmental milestone compared to rural infants.
- Preterm infants exhibited a delayed change-over of plantar response.
- Identical twins displayed plantar responses similar to full-term urban infants.
Conclusions:
- Nutritional supplementation appears to accelerate plantar response maturation in infants.
- Prematurity is associated with a delay in plantar response development.
- Environmental and nutritional factors significantly influence early neurological development indicators.
Abstract:
Cross-sectional as well as longitudinal studies on full-term urban and rural infants demonstrated that the initial extensor plantar response present in the first half of the infancy changed to a flexor plantar response in the later half. The urban infants receiving nutritional supplements showed an advance of 4 weeks over the rural infants. This process of change-over of plantar response was delayed in pre-term infants. However, two pairs of twins showed plantar response almost identical to full-term urban infants.