Are normally inhibited by frontal lobe activity in the brain, but can be "released" from inhibition if the frontal lobes are damaged.> Are normally present in infancy, however, and up until about one year of age, leading to the hypothesis that they are primitive or archaic reflexes.> Frontal release signs are seen in disorders that affect the frontal lobes, such as dementias, metabolic encephalopathies, closed head injuries, and hydrocephalus.> All of these disorders produce diffuse cerebral damage, usually involving many areas and systems in addition to the frontal lobes and pyramidal system, so the frontal release signs are not sufficient for a diagnosis.> It is suggested that the snout refl ex should really be reserved for the refl ex elicited by a constant pressure on the philtrum, which results in a puckering of the lips and is essentially a variation of the tactile rooting response.> Rooting responses can be diagnostically useful in patients in whom apathy is a feature of a frontal lobe syndrome and who have normal neuroimaging.> Occasionally one is unsure whether such patients suffer primarily from an affective disorder or an underlying frontal degeneration.> Detection of a rooting refl ex will direct one towards the latter.">