PEDIATRICS Vol. 39 No. 1 January 1967, pp. 93-96
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PLACING AND GRASPING OF THE FEET AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURES IN EARLY INFANCY

Michele Zappella M.D.1

1 The Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery of the Children's Hospital of the D.C., Washington, D.C.

Forty infants 6 months of age and under were tested for the grasping reflex of the toes and for the placing reflex against an iron bar. The temperature of the bar was varied between 10° and 45°C. Grasping was present at every temperature used in the experiment. In the first 4 months of life, placing was usually present at temperatures below 25 to 30°C and it was often absent between 30 and 40°C. This motor ability of the lower limbs was found to be present more frequently if one of the lower limbs was held in passive flexion. In the fifth and sixth months of life, placing did not appear to be affected in a significant way by differences in the temperature of the bar or by the method of testing.

Submitted on October 27, 1965
Accepted on August 16, 1966