PEDIATRICS Vol. 64 No. 4 October 1979, pp. 547-548
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Volpe, J. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Volpe, J. J.

Value of the Neonatal Neurologic Examination

Joseph J. Volpe MD1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO 63110

The value of performing a careful neonatal neurologic examination frequently is questioned on the basis of two major contentions. The first is that the usual examination evaluates only function of subcortical structures, and the second, related in large part to the first, is that abnormal neurologic findings are poor indicators of subsequent neurologic abnormality. We consider neither of these contentions to be supported by available data and discuss each briefly below.

The usual support raised for the contention that the neonatal neurologic examination evaluates only function of subcortical structures relates to findings with hydranencephalic and anencephalic infants. Such infants often exhibit sleep-wake cycles, blink to light and sound, normal pupillary responses, and reflex extraocular movements.1,2