Babies born prematurely show an increase in growth in the brain’s auditory cortex when recordings of their mother’s voice and heartbeat are played. The auditory cortex in utero is thought to be important for the development of vocal communication as well as providing the ability to interpret and remember speech.
Researchers played recordings of a mother’s voice and heartbeat to 21 premature infants for one month and then measured any growth changes in several regions of the brain. These results were compared with the brains of a second group of premature infants that were not played the recording.
The results found the auditory cortex was larger in infants who were played the recordings.
Original research paper published in PNAS on February 23, 2015.
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