Researchers said they have found stronger evidence that a fetus can hear sounds and words during the last trimester of a mother’s pregnancy.
The discovery, made by a team at the University of Helsinki, was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Researchers said they have found stronger evidence that a fetus can hear sounds and words during the last trimester of a mother’s pregnancy.
The discovery, made by a team at the University of Helsinki, was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers said women were given recordings to play for their unborn child during pregnancy. The recording contained variations of the word “tatata.” The sound was played about 25,000 times.
After the babies were born, scientists used an EEG device to confirm neural traces of the word. The study has brought new attention to neural learning in the womb.
U-T San Diego discussed the findings with Jeff Elman, a cognitive scientist who specializes in early childhood development and founding co-director of UC San Diego’s Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. Here is an edited version of that conversation.
Q: It used to be thought that a fetus didn't actually process sounds and words. I can remember seeing people roll their eyes when a mother sang to her unborn child. This point of view has changed. Why? Is there strong evidence that a fet