Rooting Reflex

Original Editor - Muskan Rastogi

Top Contributors - Muskan Rastogi and Uchechukwu Chukwuemeka  

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Introduction

The rooting reflex is the automatic head-turning response to the stimulus of face, mouth, or cheek touching. Infant apes will involuntarily orient their face toward the stimulation, often the mother’s nipple, searching for the stimulating object with an open mouth.

During development, the rooting reflex appears in utero, is present at birth, and disappears in early development. It is a primitive reflex present in newborn apes to facilitate feeding via maternal milk secretion.

The rooting reflex is related to the suckling reflex, the automatic sucking response to any pressure to the newborn mammal’s mouth. The rooting reflex has primarily been studied in humans, although it is evident in other apes including chimpanzees.

Stimulus

It initiates when the corner of an infant’s mouth is stimulated by touching or stroking

Response

The newborn will turn his or her head towards the stimulus and open the mouth with tongue thrusting.

Duration

The rooting reflex is present at birth (approximately 28 weeks gestation) and lasts about 4 to 6 months until the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex develops and suppresses the primitive motor reflexes.

Difference between Sucking and Rooting Reflex

• It is important to differentiate between the rooting reflex and the sucking reflex, which is also involved in nutritional intake.
• While the rooting reflex occurs when the corner of a baby’s mouth is stimulated, the sucking reflex initiates when the roof of his or her mouth is stimulated.
• The sucking reflex usually appears around 30 to 35 weeks. The sucking reflex is responsible for the coordination of breathing with swallowing, which starts to develop around 37 weeks

Clinical Significance

• The rooting reflex is essential for survival and growth as it helps the newborn find the source of food (breast or bottle) and initiate feeding.
• If the rooting reflex persists, the infant may have drooling and a tongue that sits too forward in the mouth. The child will have difficulty swallowing and chewing because of the dysfunctional tongue. Other clinical manifestations include hypotonic or hypertonic muscle tone, asymmetric posture and gait, and delayed developmental milestones. The persistence of primitive reflexes in infancy may also be an early sign of cognitive-developmental delay or autism.
• The trigeminal cranial nerve (CN 5), which is responsible for facial sensation, is involved in the rooting reflex. In an infant with an intact CN 5, stroking or touching the corner of his or her mouth will initiate the rooting reflex. If the infant has CN 5 dysfunction, it may result in the absence of the rooting reflex.
• Rooting reflexes can be observed in adult patients with frontal lobe pathology. They often present with other primitive reflexes that are normally suppressed by the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Patients with a frontal lobe lesion are also incapable of making decisions, have different personalities, and are not able to control emotions or maintain social interactions.