tonic neck reflexes

tonic neck reflexes

[′tän·ik ′nek ′rē‚flek·səz] (physiology) Reflexes in which 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 extension tonus of the upper extremities and relaxation of the lower limbs, and ventroflexion of the head, the reverse; seen normally in incomplete forms in the very young infant, and thereafter in patients with a lesion at the midbrain level or above.