Nejvíce citovaný článek - PubMed ID 23659315
Asymmetric tonic neck reflex and symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in children
Objective: Cognitive and motor disintegration and other functional disturbances in various neuropsychiatric disorders may be related to inhibitory deficits that may manifest as a persistence or re-expression of primitive reflexes and few recent data suggest that these deficits may occur in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Methods: We have tested a hypothesis to which extent ADHD symptoms and balance deficits are related to persisting primitive reflexes, such as Asymmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) and Symmetric Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR) in 80 medication-naïve children with ADHD (40 boys and 40 girls) in the school age (8-11 years) and compared these data with a control group of 60 children (30 boys and 30 girls). Results: These data show new finding that ADHD symptoms and balance deficits are strongly and specifically associated with persistent ATNR in girls and STNR in boys. Conclusions: These results provide first evidence in medical literature that ADHD in girls and boys is specifically related to distinguished neurological developmental mechanisms related to disinhibition of primitive reflexes.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent and historical findings suggest that later-developed functions during brain ontogenesis related to higher levels of cognitive and motor integration tend to replace the older, more primitive, ones, and the persistence of the older functions may be linked to specific neuropsychiatric disorders. Currently, there is growing evidence to suggest that persisting primitive reflexes may be related to developmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Preliminary data also suggest that persisting primitive reflexes may be specifically linked to attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: In the study reported here, we tested to what extent the persisting primitive asymmetric tonic neck reflex and symmetric tonic neck reflex are related to ADHD symptoms measured by Conners' Parent Questionnaire in 35 medication-naïve girls of school age (8-11 years) with ADHD. The results were compared with those of a control group of 30 girls of the same age. RESULTS: This study showed that persisting primitive reflexes are closely linked to ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that ADHD symptoms may be linked to more primitive neural mechanisms interfering with higher brain functions due to insufficiently developed cognitive and motor integration.
- Klíčová slova
- ADHD, asymmetric tonic neck reflex, developmental disorders, symmetric tonic neck reflex,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
