We show that under certain circumstances an atom can follow an oscillatory
motion in a periodic laser profile with a Gaussian envelope. These oscillat
ions can be well explained by using a model of energetically forbidden spat
ial regions. The similarities and differences with Bloch oscillations are d
iscussed. We demonstrate that the effect exists not only for repulsive but
also for attractive potentials, i.e., quantum multiple reflections are also
possible. [S1050-2947(99)09408-1].