Plantar grasp reflex in high-risk infants during the first year of life.

For most primitive reflexes, retention of the reflex beyond the period when it should no longer be elicited suggests a pathologic process within the central nervous system. However, for certain primitive reflexes, such as the plantar grasp reflex, a negative response within the first months of life is suggestive of a neurologic abnormality. From the results of one prospective and one retrospective study, it is clearly indicated that the absence of the plantar grasp reflex from 3 months of age and on correlates with the development of spastic cerebral palsy. The specific combination of presence or absence of specific primitive reflexes, postural reactions, or both may accurately predict a specific type of cerebral palsy or neurodevelopmental abnormality.