The Impact of Prenatal Sounds on Baby's Brain Development
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Padua in Italy suggests that language learning may begin in the womb. The study observed changes in brain patterns in newborns when exposed to speech, indicating that their brains are already attuned to their mother's language and the rhythms of speech. The research involved 33 newborns with French-speaking mothers who were played audio of a story in French, English, and Spanish. The study found that newborns exhibited brainwaves associated with speech perception and processing when exposed to their mother's language. This suggests that infants are ready to start learning language shortly after birth, and that language experience shapes the functional organization of the infant brain even before birth.
