Babinski's sign in a healthy newborn The Babinski sign can indicate upper motor neuron lesion constituting damage to the corticospinal tract. Occasionally, a pathological<unk>  is the first and only indication of a serious disease<unk> ocess and a clearly abnormal<unk>  often<unk> ompts detailed neurological investigations, including CT scanning of the brain or MRI of the spine, as well as lumbar puncture for the study of cerebrospinal fluid. The phrase "negative Babinski sign" is sometimes used for the normal flexor<unk>  response. In infants Infants will usually show an extensor response. In one study of 256 healthy infants, the response to testing was extensor in 73.8%, flexor in 8.9%, and equivocal in 17.3% This extensor response occurs because the corticospinal pathways that run from the brain down the spinal cord are not fully myelinated at this age, so the reflex is not inhibited by the cerebral cortex. The extensor response usually disappears – giving way to the flexor response – by 12 months of age. Its persistence beyond age 2–3 indicates a<unk> oblem in the brain or spinal cord. Pathways * Afferent: Nociception detected in the S1 dermatome and travels up the tibial nerve to the sciatic nerve to roots of L5,S1 and synapse in the anterior horn to elicit the motor response. * Efferent: Motor response back through the L5,S1 roots to the sciatic nerve to its bifurcation. Toe flexors are innervated by the tibial nerve. Toe extensors (extensor hallucis longus, extensor digitorum longus) are innervated by the deep peroneal nerve. Loss of normal adult descending pyramidal control of the reflex arc to suppress extensor withdrawal results in the upgoing toes in the<unk>  known as Babinski's sign.
Plantar reflex
Tendon reflex
Ankle jerk reflex
Patellar reflex
Biceps reflex
Brachioradialis reflex
Scratch reflex
Triceps reflex