Primitive Reflexes and Their Role in Nervous System Development

 Primitive reflexes (PRs) are foundational components of the human nervous system, serving as essential building blocks for complex motor and cognitive functions. These automatic, involuntary movements are present at birth and typically integrate as the child matures, usually by the age of two. Controlled by cranial nerves in the brainstem—a primitive part of the brain—these reflexes maintain a balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, supporting motor movement, decision-making, and emotional regulation. When these reflexes remain reactive or reemerge later in life, they disrupt vagal nerve signals, leaving the body in a heightened state of arousal, and flooding the brain with stress hormones along the HPA axis.

Proper integration of primitive reflexes is essential for developing higher-order skills, including decision-making, emotional regulation, and maintaining balance within the autonomic nervous system. Incomplete integration or reactivation of these reflexes leads to challenges such as poor coordination, orthopedic issues, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems. Trauma—whether emotional or physical, such as emotional shock, head injuries, car accidents, or neurogenic disease—reactivates these reflexes in both children and adults, indicating chronic states of high sympathetic arousal. This heightened state impacts the patient's overall health and well-being, even if they do not perceive it as emotional stress.

In children with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) scores higher than 3, these reflexes fail to integrate. Children in sympathetically charged or dangerous environments remain locked in a freeze state, preventing proper reflex integration. When one reflex fails to integrate, it disrupts the development of several higher-order reflexes, leading to compounded developmental deficits that persist into adulthood.

The reactivation of PRs in adults—whether due to PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, or demyelinating diseases—indicates both the involvement of cranial nerves and a body in a chronic state of high arousal. This state of sympathetic dominance, or retained fight-flight-freeze response, impairs the body’s ability to engage in neuroplasticity—a process essential for recovery and adaptation. PR demonstration in adults serves as a clear marker for clinicians to assess the underlying autonomic dysfunction that hinders healing.

Svetlana Masgutova’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of these primitive reflexes, particularly in how they reemerge in response to trauma. Masgutova identified over 30 primary reflex patterns that are fundamental to our neurodevelopment. Trauma reactivates these reflexes in adults, contributing to chronic stress, anxiety, and other maladaptive behaviors. Her findings provide a clear understanding of the pathomechanisms involved, illustrating how a reactivated PR keeps the body in a state of high arousal, preventing neuroplasticity and natural healing processes.

While Masgutova's MNRI (Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration) method is effective in children, it does not, however, yield the same results in adults, especially those with long-term conditions. The MNRI method, which draws from occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) techniques, works well in children but fails to address the needs of adults whose reflexes did not integrate properly. The adult body has a more rigid bony matrix  with higher levels of chondroitin.  The reflex integration exercises provide no healing or balance to the nervous system in adults with neurogenic diseases or conditions involving spasticity including nystagmus.

As a healthcare provider, neuroscience student, and neuro-trauma patient, I found myself in a unique position to both understand and explore these issues.  Like Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who chronicled her journey of neuroplasticity after a stroke, I navigated through  life-threatening neurological disease with self-awareness, drawing on the profound insights provided by experts like Masgutova, Peter Levine, and PVT. MNRI provided a foundational understanding of the pathomechanisms behind the derangement in both my own nervous system and that of my clients, but it was Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that emerged as the clinical method for restoring parasympathetic balance to the ANS to harness neuroplasticity.

To date, there has been no existing treatment that fully restores parasympathetic balance to the autonomic nervous system, particularly for conditions like Parkinson’s, MS, and PTSD. My neuro patients understood this reality as well, and together, we have created a new approach. A neuro-informed approach to TCM allows us to restore balance to the ANS visibly by working with the sinew channels.  

This approach not only addressed the physiological impacts of reactivated PRs but also provided a tangible method for observing and enhancing autonomic function. Ultimately, this method promotes neuroplasticity and provides illumination for many issues observed in chronic neurogenic disease and trauma. These techniques are not limited to TCM practitioners, however.  They can be effectively employed by professionals across various disciplines, including massage therapists, physical therapists, and medical doctors. Working hand in hand with my clients, we continue to discover simpler ways for patients to support their parasympathetic baseline more effectively, empowering them to take an active role in their own healing.

References

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• Fratkin, J. (2024). The 3-Level Acupuncture Balance: Part 4 – More on the Divergent Channel Treatment. Retrieved from https://drjakefratkin.com

• Maciocia, G. (2006). The Channels of Acupuncture: Clinical Use of the Secondary Channels and Eight Extraordinary Vessels. Churchill Livingstone.

• Masgutova, S. (2015). The Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) Method: Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration for Children and Adults with Challenges in Learning, Motor, and Emotional Development. SMEI.

• Pryor, J. (2020). Trauma and the Primitive Reflexes: The Missing Link to Healing. Whole Body Healing Press.

• Sacred Lotus. (2024). 8 Extraordinary Channels in Acupuncture. Retrieved from https://www.sacredlotus.com

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