| Description |
A pilot study was done with regard to the relationship between a pattern of neurological maturity and a model of the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Ten Caucasian infants, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, were studied at one, two, three, and four months of age. A neurological exam was performed at each age and questions about the infant having had any respiratory infections were asked of the infant's mother. This pilot study suggests that neurological development might explain a model of SIDS. Reflexes that disappear with age were tested and graphed against reflexes which increase with age. The reflexes tested which increase with age included visual response, inanimate auditory response, animate visual and auditory responses, asymmetrical tonic neck reflex, stripping action of the tongue, rate of sucks, grouping of sucks, pull to a sit, cuddliness, consolability, plantar reflex and palmar reflex. The reflexes which decrease with age included the Babinski reflex, walking, placing, incurvation of the trunk, the Moro reflex, the rooting reflex, ankle clonus and the number of startles observed during the exam. The researcher was able to graph the line of the reflexes that increase with age to intersect with the line of reflexes that decrease with age. The intersection occurred between two and three months of age. This might suggest the presence of a neurological strain at this age. This is also the time of greatest vulnerability to SIDS. It was also interesting to note that this study showed that male infants retain the reflexes that decline longer than females.This study also revealed a peak of respiratory infections at two months of age. It is possible that SIDS occurs at an age when an infant is most vulnerable both neurologically and in the probability of acquiring a respiratory insult. A study with a larger sample size needs to be done to substantiate this data. |
