Charlie did not speak until he was two. One day, his mom recalls, he selected an ‘m’ block and ran to her, following it with an ‘o’ and another ‘m.’ As a toddler, he was choosing moments to show pictures and letters as symbols for expression and yet, his voice did not follow.
An infant is born with 86 billion neurons waiting to be linked. Through our reflexes, movement occurs and that in turn enables us to build and strengthen those linkages within our brain. Connections build and grow between the base of the brain upwards from our brainstem, the part of the brain fully formed at birth. As a baby develops, movement evolves from primitive reflexes to more advanced motor skills, sending signals that strengthen the neural network, creating connections that increase awareness and control over time.
The Babkin Reflex is the opening of the mouth that occurs with a stimulus in the hand. This is closely associated with both Root/Suck and Infant Palmar Grasp, movements that support hand to mouth behavior.
Do you remember those stress balls that sat on every desk, offering a doughy outlet for a tough day at work? Today, you can’t miss the multitude of calming toys, fidget spinners and tactile strips on the market designed to quell anxiety and redirect our behavioral responses. In stressful situations, these may be acceptable coping mechanisms but provide only a short-term fix for a more complex challenge.
Oxytocin in released with physical touch like hugging and cuddling, which in turn triggers feelings of attraction and attachment. Oxytocin, often referred to as “the love hormone” and the role it plays as a chemical messenger in our brain. Oxytocin is responsible for several functions at the beginning of life, but its calming effect on the body has a substantial impact on our behavior and our mental health.
When pressure is applied to the inner pads of an infant’s fingers, they curl inward to grasp or hold something. Palmer is considered a part of cling, associated with early evoluMonary signs of animals aNaching to their mother for safety and care and integrates over the first year of life. The Infant Plantar reflex refers to the curling of toes when pressure is applied to the ball of the foot. It is present at birth and integrates as we develop more complex movements as crawling and later walking develop.
Together, the Root and Suck reflexes serve as a means of soothing through bonding and nourishment.
“Elizabeth has connected the dots for us. She’s allowed us to understand our daughter and parent very differently because I’m able to see that for a while it wasn’t in her control.”
Moro, the startle reflex, is the more well-known of the defensive reflexes. Comprised of two integral parts, this reflex forms the foundation for our ability to mobilize to protect us from danger. The first stage involves a sudden response to stimuli that emerges in utero between 9-12 weeks. At once, the body moves out from the midline, flinging or stretching extremities while experiencing an uptick in adrenaline and an increased heart rate. The complimentary response, or second stage of Moro, is a return to calm or ‘cling.’ The outstretched limbs curl inward gradually, seeking embrace and soothing from a caregiver, while heart rate and breathing steady into a state of rest once again. Integrated within the first few months of infancy, the Moro reflex is an essential defensive reflex that leads us to develop self-regulation and a feeling of safety while navigating our environment.
Known as the withdrawal reflex, Fear Paralysis is responsible for the body’s ability to immobilize, or freeze, when one’s nervous system is threatened. Fear paralysis emerges around 5 weeks after conception, even before most women realize they are expecting. Its initial job is for survival of the growing embryo. When something stimulates the mouth area, the embryo’s whole body moves in unison to pull inward toward the core, similar to the curl of a roly poly or pill bug. It’s reacting for self-protection. Notably, the action of being immobile is just as critical to development as the early stages of mobilization in the body.
