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Tone and reflex development before term.

M C Allen1, A J Capute

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Pediatrics
|March 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Infant muscle tone and reflexes develop in a predictable sequence from lower to upper extremities and distal to proximal. This orderly maturation process occurs before full term in healthy infants.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Neurology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Understanding the typical development of motor function in preterm infants is crucial for identifying neurological abnormalities.
  • Previous research has described various aspects of infant motor development, but a comprehensive sequential analysis of tone and reflexes from early preterm to term is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the evolution of muscle tone and reflexes in surviving preterm infants from 25 weeks postmenstrual age to term.
  • To establish the sequential pattern and timing of tone and reflex development in relation to gestational age.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal assessment of 42 surviving infants born with birth weights under 1300g.
  • Weekly examinations from birth until neonatal intensive care unit discharge, focusing on tone (popliteal angle, heel to ear, hip, shoulder, trunk) and reflexes (primitive, pathologic, deep tendon).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Exclusion of infants who developed cerebral palsy.

    • Main Results:

    • Lower extremity flexor tone was detectable by 29 weeks postmenstrual age.
    • Flexor tone, recoil, and hyperreflexia appeared 2-3 weeks earlier in lower than upper extremities.
    • Tone maturation followed a caudocephalad (lower to upper) and centripetal (distal to proximal) pattern.
    • Primitive and pathologic reflexes emerged in a sequence mirroring tone development.

    Conclusions:

    • Infant tone and reflex maturation follows a consistent, orderly caudocephalad and centripetal pattern.
    • This predictable sequence provides a baseline for assessing neurological development in preterm infants.
    • The findings highlight the importance of evaluating motor development in a systematic, sequential manner.