Boy 1¼ month old. This newborn reflex is elicited by holding the newborn in ventral suspension (face down) and run a finger down one side of the spine. The normal reaction is for the newborn to laterally flex toward the side that was stroked. The Galant Reflex is one of the reflexes tested in newborns to help rule out brain damage at birth. This refelex disappears around the 4th month. However, some healthy children up to 5 years of age still show the reflex.
The reflex is named after the Russian neurologis