[Electromyographic studies of plantar-mental reflex]

The authors investigated the electromyographic response to mechanical stimulation of the palmar skin (palmo-mental reflex) and plantar skin (planto-mental reflex) in the mentalis muscle. The palmo-mental reflex was present in EMG in all 22 healthy subjects an in 51 cases of 51 cases of limited cerebral lesions. The planto-mental reflex was absent in healthy subjects, but it was found in 14 out of 31 cases of focal brain injury and in 2 out of 20 cases with diffuse lesions. The planto-mental reflex is a pathological reflex appearing mainly in severe focal cerebral lesions. No description of this reflex was found in the available literature.