Stretch reflexes of the normal infant.
Tendon-jerk reflexes were tested in normal, fullterm infants aged one to four days. EMGs were recorded from gastrocnemius-soleus and tibialis anterior muscles. Reflex-like EMGs were evoked when tapping sites which should not excite the muscles from which that activity is recorded--this included the simultaneous activation of antagonistic muscles by a tendon tap. The possible mechanisms which could produce these results are discussed, as are the possible relationships between the proposed pathways and the reciprocally excitatory paths in cerebral palsy.
D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009470:Muscle Spindles / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D012026:Reflex, Stretch; D014732:Vibration