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Hey Hans, I had a feeling that this was the Babinski reflex but I had never heard it phrased this way before. Thanks for posting all the great info. This is a good thing for me to know as well as David. Peace Pat Hans van der Genugten wrote: > Hi David, > > >> Extensor plantar responses << > > This is the same as the Babinski reflex. > > Hans. > > Babinski reflex: An important neurologic test based, believe it or not, upon > what the big toe does when the sole of the foot is stimulated. If the big > toe goes up, that may mean trouble. > > The Babinski reflex is obtained by stimulating the external portion (the > outside) of the sole. The examiner begins the stimulation back at the heel > and goes forward to the base of the toes. There are diverse ways to elicit > the Babinski response. A useful way that requires no special equipment is > with firm pressure from the examiner's thumb. Just stroke the sole firmly > with the thumb from back to front along the outside edge. > > Care must be taken not to overdo it. Too vigorous stimulation may cause > withdrawal of the foot or toe, which can be mistaken as a Babinski response. > > The Babinski reflex is characterized by extension of the great toe and also > by fanning of the other toes. > > Most newborn babies are not neurologically mature and therefore show a > Babinski response. Upon stimulation of the sole, they extend the great toe . > Many young infants do this, too, and it is perfectly normal. However, in > time during infancy the Babinski response vanishes and, under normal > circumstances, should never return. > > A Babinski response in an older child or adult is abnormal. It is a sign of > a problem in the central nervous system (CNS), most likely in a part of the > CNS called the pyramidal tract. > > Asymmetry of the Babinski response -- when it is present on one side but not > the other -- is abnormal. It is a sign not merely of trouble but helps to > lateralize that trouble (tell which side of the CNS is involved). > > The Babinski reflex is known by a number of other names: the plantar > response (because the sole is the plantar surface of the foot), the toe or > big toe sign or phenomenon, the Babinski phenomenon or sign. (It is wrong to > say that the Babinski sign is positive or negative; it is present or > absent). > > Babinski, despite the Slavic sound of the name, was French: Joseph Francois > Felix Babinski (1857-1932). He will never be forgotten in medicine, thanks > to the reflex he found.