How to Test for Galant Reflex

Galant Reflex is one of several tests used in neurological studies of infants and is an autonomic muscular response to stimuli. This reflex disappears at 3 to 6 months of age, reports Keep Kids Healthy website. If it does not disappear, this may be indication of a neurological problem, just as the lack of response in a newborn may indicate a problem. Tests like this are not conclusive, but failure to respond to several reflex tests may be justification for further testing.

Instructions

• 1

  Hold an infant a few inches above a bed or soft surface with one hand holding the belly or chest and neck and the back facing you. Do not allow hands or feet to touch the bed, but make sure the infant can move the lower back and legs. In other words, do not use your arm to hold the infant between the legs. This test also works for premature infants, reports lead researcher M. C. Allen in a report titled "The Evolution of Primitive Reflexes in Extremely Premature Infants" published in Pediatric Research in December 1986. A study at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst by Courtney Plaster titled "Neonatal Reflexes" shows that this reflex is present in neonates 20 weeks in utero.

• 2

  Stroke along one side of the infant's spine in a cephalocaudal direction, or from the head to waist. This test requires no equipment and causes no harm to the infant. A report in "Pediatric Neurology" in March 2005 titled "Primitive Reflexes and Postural Reactions in the Neurodevelopmental Examination" by D I Zafeiriou explains that tests of this type provide testing tools for Third World countries and are important for developing countries when metabolic screening tests do not detect a risk.

• 3

  Watch the response to the stroking. A responsive baby will flex the hips and body toward the stroked side. A report in "Pediatric Neurology" in September 1995 titled "Prospective Follow-up of Primitive Reflex Profiles in High-Risk Infants: Clues to an Early Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy" by D I Zafeiriou emphasizes that a presumptive diagnosis can be made in high-risk infants with the use of reflex testing, including the Galant reflex.