Summary
A study of 87 full-term and 8 premature infants revealed a connection between the vestibular apparatus and the muscles of the eyelids which is here described for the first time. The connection was shown by the opening of the eyes during the stimulation of the semicircular canals. The stimulation was effected by carefully raising the infant and then suddenly turning it face downwards. The infant did not wake up, and the reflex, which we have called the vestibulo-palpebral reflex was strictly local, and not accompanied by any general motor reaction. It appeared during the very first hours after birth, but later it disappeared, as do other phylogenetically ancient reflexes, and earlier than, for instance, the Palmar or Babinski reflexes.
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Fonarev, A.M. A vestibulo-palpebral reflex. Bull Exp Biol Med 50, 1249–1251 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00785378
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00785378