What reflex is observed when an infant is held upright with feet touching a solid surface, appearing to take steps or dance?

What reflex is observed when an infant is held upright with feet touching a solid surface, appearing to take steps or dance?

• A. Stepping
• B. Tonic Neck
• C. Rovee-Collier
• D. Maturation

Answer: (A)

Stepping is the reflex being tested. When you hold an infant upright with feet touching a solid surface, the legs automatically perform rhythmic stepping movements, as if the baby is trying to walk. This is a locomotor reflex that serves as a preliminary impulse toward voluntary walking, though it tends to fade in the early months before reappearing as intentional walking later on. Tonic neck is a different reflex where turning the head causes the limbs on that side to extend, not a stepping pattern. Rovee-Collier relates to memory and conditioning experiments with infants, not a motor reflex. Maturation describes overall developmental progress, not a specific reflex response.

Stepping is the reflex being tested. When you hold an infant upright with feet touching a solid surface, the legs automatically perform rhythmic stepping movements, as if the baby is trying to walk. This is a locomotor reflex that serves as a preliminary impulse toward voluntary walking, though it tends to fade in the early months before reappearing as intentional walking later on. Tonic neck is a different reflex where turning the head causes the limbs on that side to extend, not a stepping pattern. Rovee-Collier relates to memory and conditioning experiments with infants, not a motor reflex. Maturation describes overall developmental progress, not a specific reflex response.