tonic labyrinthine reflexes

tonic labyrinthine reflexes

[′tän·ik ‚lab·ə′rin‚thēn ′rē‚flek·səz]

(physiology)

Rotation or deviation of the head causes extension of the limbs on the same side as the chin, and flexion of the opposite extremities: dorsiflexion of the head produces increased extensor tonus of the upper extremities and relaxation of the lower limbs, while ventroflexion of the head produces the reverse; seen in the young infant and patients with a lesion at the midbrain level or above.