Stanford: A new study conducted by researchers from US Stanford University School of Medicine revealed that hearing their mothers’ voices helps premature babies enhance the development of language pathways in their brains.
According to Qatar News Agency, the study showed that premature babies in the hospital who regularly listened to recordings of their mothers’ voices exhibited more mature development in the main language pathway in the brain, compared to those who were not exposed to their mothers’ voices.
Dr. Katherine Travis, the lead author of the study, explained that the results provide the first causal evidence that verbal experience contributes to brain development at this very early age. She noted that these findings could influence how newborn care is provided to improve language outcomes in premature infants.
The research team highlighted that the observed effect on brain development, despite the short duration of the experiment, underscores the importance of exposure to speech in the early stages of life. They emphasized that hospital interventions can significantly impact the language development of premature infants.
The study also suggested that audio recordings can complement in-person visits, enabling babies to hear their parents’ voices and feel their presence, which contributes to enhanced neurological and language development.
Premature babies, born at least three weeks before their due date, often spend extended periods in the hospital, limiting their exposure to their mothers’ speech compared to in-utero development. Researchers played audio recordings of the mothers for two hours and 40 minutes daily over several weeks, positively impacting the growth of the white matter in the left arcuate fasciculus, the pathway specialized in language processing.