Retained Primitive Reflexes and ADHD in Children

By Jana Konicarova and Petr Bob

Particularly important postnatal developmental reflexes that diminish in later stages of development are Moro reflex and Galant reflex that belong among the so-called primitive reflexes. According to current evidence persistence of the primitive reflexes is related to certain specific neuropsychiatric disorders. According to current knowledge there is no evidence whether these reflexes play a role in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). To develop these findings we have tested a hypothesis whether ADHD children in the school age (eight to eleven years) will have higher level of persisting primitive reflexes Moro and Galant compared to a control group of children of the same age. Results of this study show that ADHD children have high occurrence of primitive reflexes compared to the control group, which indicates that ADHD symptoms may present a compensation of unfinished developmental stages related to diminishing Moro and Galant reflexes.

Reference:

Konicarova, J., & Bob, P. (2012). Retained Primitive Reflexes and ADHD in Children. Activitas Nervosa Superior, 54(3-4), 135–138. doi: 10.1007/bf03379591