Fetal sensory competencies

Lecanuet, Jean-Pierre; Schaal, Benoı̂st

doi:10.1016/0301-2115(96)02509-2

Cited by 171 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…One inherent limitation of our study is that it cannot estimate the extent to which uterine input has already shaped the neural systems at birth. The fetus perceives auditory information in the final weeks of gestation, and salient features of this input can be recognized after birth (62)(63)(64). Also, our findings do not imply that the specific response we observe when the newborn brain is exposed to musical information evolved for, and is exclusively involved in, instrumental music processing (similar responses are likely to be elicited by song, and by the melodic aspects of speech).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Functional specializations for music processing in the human newborn brain

Perani

Saccuman

Scifo

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

290

175

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In adults, specific neural systems with right-hemispheric weighting are necessary to process pitch, melody, and harmony as well as structure and meaning emerging from musical sequences. It is not known to what extent the specialization of these systems results from longterm exposure to music or from neurobiological constraints. One way to address this question is to examine how these systems function at birth, when auditory experience is minimal. We used functional MRI to measure brain activity in 1-to 3-day-old newborns while they heard excerpts of Western tonal music and altered versions of the same excerpts. Altered versions either included changes of the tonal key or were permanently dissonant. Music evoked predominantly right-hemispheric activations in primary and higher order auditory cortex. During presentation of the altered excerpts, hemodynamic responses were significantly reduced in the right auditory cortex, and activations emerged in the left inferior frontal cortex and limbic structures. These results demonstrate that the infant brain shows a hemispheric specialization in processing music as early as the first postnatal hours. Results also indicate that the neural architecture underlying music processing in newborns is sensitive to changes in tonal key as well as to differences in consonance and dissonance.auditory cortex | functional MRI | neonates | emotion

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Functional specializations for music processing in the human newborn brain

Perani

Saccuman

Scifo

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

290

175

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“…Responses to low frequency noise can be recorded from approximately the 16th wk in the fetus brain (45). The cochlea is probably structurally developed from around the 18th gestational week to provide auditory input.…”

Section: Sensory Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emergence of Human Consciousness: From Fetal to Neonatal Life

2009

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A simple definition of consciousness is sensory awareness of the body, the self, and the world. The fetus may be aware of the body, for example by perceiving pain. It reacts to touch, smell, and sound, and shows facial expressions responding to external stimuli. However, these reactions are probably preprogrammed and have a subcortical nonconscious origin. Furthermore, the fetus is almost continuously asleep and unconscious partially due to endogenous sedation. Conversely, the newborn infant can be awake, exhibit sensory awareness, and process memorized mental representations. It is also able to differentiate between self and nonself touch, express emotions, and show signs of shared feelings. Yet, it is unreflective, present oriented, and makes little reference to concept of him/herself. Newborn infants display features characteristic of what may be referred to as basic consciousness and they still have to undergo considerable maturation to reach the level of adult consciousness. The preterm infant, ex utero, may open its eyes and establish minimal eye contact with its mother. It also shows avoidance reactions to harmful stimuli. However, the thalamocortical connections are not yet fully established, which is why it can only reach a minimal level of consciousness. (Pediatr Res 65: 255-260, 2009)

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“…Such plastic changes in neural assemblies during early development indicate that humans have some learning capability even before birth (5,6). However, this learning capability may be based predominantly on the discrimination of low-pitched sounds that can penetrate the intrauterine walls (7)(8)(9). This lowpitch information may play an important role in early speech discrimination of newborns (10) by facilitating learning to segment incoming speech into meaningful units.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning-induced neural plasticity of speech processing before birth

Partanen

Kujala

Näätänen

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

178

146

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Learning, the foundation of adaptive and intelligent behavior, is based on plastic changes in neural assemblies, reflected by the modulation of electric brain responses. In infancy, auditory learning implicates the formation and strengthening of neural long-term memory traces, improving discrimination skills, in particular those forming the prerequisites for speech perception and understanding. Although previous behavioral observations show that newborns react differentially to unfamiliar sounds vs. familiar sound material that they were exposed to as fetuses, the neural basis of fetal learning has not thus far been investigated. Here we demonstrate direct neural correlates of human fetal learning of speech-like auditory stimuli. We presented variants of words to fetuses; unlike infants with no exposure to these stimuli, the exposed fetuses showed enhanced brain activity (mismatch responses) in response to pitch changes for the trained variants after birth. Furthermore, a significant correlation existed between the amount of prenatal exposure and brain activity, with greater activity being associated with a higher amount of prenatal speech exposure. Moreover, the learning effect was generalized to other types of similar speech sounds not included in the training material. Consequently, our results indicate neural commitment specifically tuned to the speech features heard before birth and their memory representations. mismatch negativity | event-related potentials D uring the fetal period the brain undergoes extensive developmental changes as new synapses are formed (1) and axonal connections between neurons are myelinated (2), facilitating efficient recognition and analysis of complex information. In audition, the functional maturation of the developing nervous system is driven by external input, which is evidenced by, for instance, the rapid reorganization of the auditory cortex by external stimuli soon after the onset of hearing in rats (3). This was suggested to occur in humans usually by the gestational age of 27 wk (4). Such plastic changes in neural assemblies during early development indicate that humans have some learning capability even before birth (5, 6). However, this learning capability may be based predominantly on the discrimination of low-pitched sounds that can penetrate the intrauterine walls (7-9). This lowpitch information may play an important role in early speech discrimination of newborns (10) by facilitating learning to segment incoming speech into meaningful units.Consistent with this, previous behavioral studies have shown that fetuses become attuned to a variety of features of the surrounding auditory environment. For example, fetuses habituate to the native language of the environment or of the mother (11, 12), familiar melodies (13) or fragments of stories heard during pregnancy (14), and even the mother's voice (15). In addition to learning-based habituation involving the laterobasal amygdala only (16), fetuses, for example, react differently to native and nonnative vowels (17) or f...

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Fetal sensory competencies

Cited by 171 publications

References 141 publications

Functional specializations for music processing in the human newborn brain

Functional specializations for music processing in the human newborn brain

The Emergence of Human Consciousness: From Fetal to Neonatal Life

Learning-induced neural plasticity of speech processing before birth

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