Abstract
The relation of the degree of grasp-reflex asymmetry to the strength of right- and left-hand grasp-reflex strength and body weight was studied in human newborn. In the total sample (N = 103), the right minus left (R-L) reflex strength was found to be positively linearly related to the grasp-reflex strengths from the right and left hands in FS-subjects; the correlation was higher for the right hand than the left hand. In FS+ subjects (N = 17), there was not a significant correlation between R-L and right-reflex strength; left-reflex strength was found to be negatively linearly related to the R-L reflex strength. In FS- subjects, the right- and left-reflex strengths showed a positive linear correlation with body weight. In FS+ subjects, only the left-reflex showed a positive linear correlation with body weight. The R-L reflex tended to be positively correlated with body weight in FS- subjects and negatively correlated in FS+ subjects. In females (N = 58), the relation of R-L to right and left reflex was similar to that for the total sample. There was no significant correlation between grasp reflex and body weight in FS- females. In FS+ females (N = 8), there was a positive linear correlation between the right grasp-reflex and body weight; the left grasp-reflex did not show such a significant correlation. The R-L grasp-reflex strength was not correlated with body weight in females. In males (N = 62), the relationships between R-L and right-or left-reflex strengths were found to be similar to those found in the total sample. There was a positive linear correlation between right- and left-reflex strengths and body weight in FS-males. There was a positive linear correlation only with the left-reflex strength and body weight in FS+ males (N = 9). There was no correlation between R-L reflex and body weight in FS- males; the R-L reflex tended to be negatively linearly correlated with body weight in FS+ subjects. These results suggest that FS is an important factor modulating the degree of motor asymmetry and the development of cerebral lateralization.