Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 243

Newborns are equipped to respond to the stimulation they encounter in the world. The earliest ways in which infants adapt are through the use of their reflexes, involuntary and automatic responses to stimuli such as touch, light, and sound. Each reflex has its own developmental course (Payne & Isaacs, 2016). Some disappear early in life and others persist throughout life, as shown in Table 4.1. Infants show individual differences in how reflexes are displayed, specifically the intensity of the response. Preterm newborns, for example, show reflexes suggesting a more immature neurological system than full-term newborns (Barros, Mitsuhiro, Chalem, Laranjeira, & Guinsburg, 2011). The absence of reflexes, however, may signal neurological deficits.

Table 4.1