There are basic congenital reflexes that are manifested in the infant and indicate the normality of its development. Such unconditioned reflexes in the newborn are allocated more than seventy and all of them are called upon to ensure the adaptation of the child to the conditions of existence.
Among the most important oral automatisms, it is necessary to isolate the proboscis reflex. This is the contraction of the circular muscle of the mouth, which occurs automatically in response to a brief touch to the lips. Reacting to the touch, the lips of the baby are stretched out into the tube, like a proboscis, from where the names of this phenomenon.
A sucking act is vital in the first months of life, which is the reason for the importance of the proboscis reflex as a component of the sucking process. In neurology, the results of testing this reflex can be used to determine the compliance of age norms and the detection of pathologies of the nervous system, depending on the diagnostic purposes.
Diagnostic objectives of
The study of a proboscis reflex has such objectives:
- Determination of the development rate of .The proboscis reflex manifests itself in the newborn from the first day of life and indicates the usefulness of its development. Accordingly, when performing a sample of this reflex, the doctor can draw a conclusion about the infant's compliance with physiological norms.
- Evaluation of the neonatal status of the newborn .If there are certain injuries in the delivery process, the
brain stem may be damaged. In such children, unconditioned reflexes are disturbed. In most cases, the proboscis symptom begins to manifest itself to the seventh day of life, and before that it is weakly expressed or absent at all. Based on the results of diagnosis of this reflex in conjunction with other indicators, the neurologist commits an assessment of the child's neurological status. Significant in this case is the duration of the absence of manifestation of the reflex, its intensity. - Definition of pathologies in the child .Normally, the reaction to the touch in the form of stretching the lips into the proboscis disappears after the second-third month of life. If this reaction is present in the fourth month and later, this may be an indication of the presence of certain organic lesions of the brain. Also, the pathology may be indicated by the presence of a certain asymmetry of the lips when pulled into the tube, or by the complete absence of this reaction in the first 2-3 months of life. It should also be noted that cases of preservation of this reflex to one year, and sometimes up to two or three years, as a protective-adaptive reaction, were observed in healthy children.
- Detection of pathologies in adulthood .With normal development, absence of pathologies and developmental abnormalities, an adult is not characterized by the manifestation of infantile reflexes, since there is no need for them. With a neurologic examination, a positive reaction to a proboscis reflex in adults can cause suspicion of having a stroke, encephalopathy, craniocerebral trauma, or bulbar syndrome. Also, the reaction can be diagnosed with pseudobulbar paralysis or point to diffuse lesions of the brain. In healthy people moderately expressed this reflex can be in old age.
Diagnostic procedure
A proboscis reflex is examined by a neurologist when taking a patient or when testing a newborn's reactions. Also, this procedure can be carried out by the parents of the baby, if they have some concern about the health of the child. In detail, having read the instructions below, not even the specialist will be able to carry out the diagnostics.
For the diagnosis, the following should be done:
- Prepare the room .The temperature in the room should be about 25-27 degrees. Lighting should be bright, but not annoying.
- Place the baby on the surface, which should be soft , but not bending. The child should be fed 1-2 hours before the procedure.
- Visually mark the area of the upper lip at the level of the gums .Make a few easy quick tapping with your index finger over this area. The baby's lips should be stretched out with a proboscis. Often, such a reaction can be accompanied by pulling the lower jaw and swallowing movements.
Diagnosis of children who are already able to follow the instructions of a doctor, are tested the same way as adults. The neurologist checks the proboscis 
reflex with a special malleus.
The patient is asked to close his eyes and attach the index finger to the upper lip, through which the doctor performs tapping. Response to these actions should be absent. If there is a reaction, the neurologist will suspect certain pathologies of the brain. This reflex can be observed in focal lesions of the posterior part of the frontal lobe of the brain.
Proboscis reflex is one of the important indicators of a newborn's health. It is very important to identify the pathologies of the child's development in time, which can be helped by the diagnosis of this particular reaction. Sometimes, reflexes in newborns may be delayed, which can be due to a number of reasons, including birth trauma.
It should be remembered that the timely detection of pathology increases the chances of successful rehabilitation, both in children and in adults.
