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Chapter 5 - Grasping and the Grasp Reflex

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

Robert Laureno
Robert Laureno
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

The grasp reflex and the instinctive grasp response differ in their necessary stimulus, level of motor integration, and clinical utility. The grasp reflex proper results from a combined cutaneous and proprioceptive stimulus. It is a stereotyped reflex due to disease of the supplementary motor area of the contralateral frontal lobe. More complex is the instinctive grasp response which involves groping. Its stimulus is purely tactile. A different phenomenon is the alien hand syndrome in which the hand has a will of its own.

Keywords

Grasp reflexInstinctive grasp responseAlien hand syndrome
Type
Chapter
Information
Insights into Clinical Neurology , pp. 33 - 40
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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