Short-term memory functions of the human fetus recorded with magnetoencephalography

Abstract

Studies in fetuses and in prematurely born infants show that auditory discriminative skills are present prior to birth. The magnetic fields generated by the fetal brain activity pass the maternal tissues and, despite their weakness, can be detected externally using MEG. Recent studies on the auditory evoked magnetic responses show that the fetal brain responds to sound onset. In contrast, higher-level auditory skills, such as those involving discriminative and memory functions, were not so far studied in fetuses with MEG. Here we show that fetal responses related to discriminating sounds can be recorded, implicating that the auditory change-detection system is functional. These results open new views to developmental neuroscience by enabling one to determine the sensory capabilities as well as the extent and accuracy of the short-term memory system of the fetus, and, further, to follow the development of these crucial processes.

Newborn infants detect the beat in music

“…Our results show that although learning by movement is probably important, the newborn auditory system is apparently sensitive to periodicities and develops expectations about when a new cycle should start (i.e., when the downbeat should occur). Therefore, although auditory perceptual learning starts already in the womb (20,21), our results are fully compatible with the notion that the perception of beat is innate. In the current experiment, the beat was extracted from a sequence comprised of 4 different variants of the same rhythmic structure.…”

The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity

“…This is useful information that is only found in this study. The total length of the study is also omitted in most studies (e.g., Huotilainen et al, 2005) making it difficult to assess attention as a cause of response rate variation. There is, however, some level of consistency between fMRI and fMEG studies.…”

Newborns discriminate novel from harmonic sounds: A study using magnetoencephalography

“…due to small responses or relatively low number or trials in the average, the responses thus including some 'noise' from the background high-voltage activity in quiet sleep. Another advantage of neonatal MEG above EEG studies is that it may further be useful in supporting the understanding of fetal MEG-data (Huotilainen et al, 2005). …”