The mother’s language affects the development of the child’s brain even before birth – research
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Neurobiologists from the University of Padua in Italy, together with colleagues from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), have found evidence that the development of the nervous system of babies in the womb is influenced by the language they hear.
In an article published in the journal Science Advances, scientists describe a study they conducted with newborn children using electroencephalography, writes Medical Xpress.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the most informative types of brain function research that allows you to see the signs of various disorders and assess their nature.
Previous studies by scientists have shown that babies in the womb, starting at about 5-7 months, can hear their mother’s voice. They can also recognize her voice after birth.
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To find out how speech heard in the womb affects the neural development of the child’s brain, researchers conducted an experiment with the participation of 33 newborns and their mothers. All were French speakers.
The experiment consisted in examining all newborn “volunteers” with EEG within a few days after birth.
While the babies were sleeping, the researchers played tapes that read different language versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
By studying the EEG results, the researchers found that the babies’ brains responded to the speech they heard before birth as something familiar and processed it better.
Researchers suggest that this is evidence that a child’s brain is uniquely influenced by the language they heard in the womb. In this case – French.
The research team also found that the baby’s neural response was strongest in the EEG readings when the book was read in French, suggesting that prenatal exposure to a particular language played an important role in the brain’s neural development.
Read also: “SARS in a baby: what parents must know”
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