Neuroscientists at Rutgers University in the USA have found a way to improve speech development in infants. The results of the research were published in a scientific journal. cerebral cortex.
As part of the study, lead author April Benasich, a specialist in early brain plasticity, founded RAPT Ventures, Inc. (RVI) has launched its first product, the RAPTbaby Smarter Sleep Sound Machine, designed to create a soothing and cognitively supportive sound environment for babies and toddlers.
The experiment included 20 infants at four months of age included in the passive sound exposure group and 83 infants included in the control group for comparison. Each child from the first group visited the laboratory once a week for six weeks. There, the children were placed in a chair equidistant between the left and right speakers, where they listened to pairs of non-speech sounds of different frequencies and intensities, separated by time intervals important for speech processing. At follow-up visits, children aged 7, 9, 12, and 18 months underwent electrocardiograms.
Fast auditory processing depends on the synchronization of the theta waves (frequency 5-10 hertz) of the brain between the left (LAC) and right (RAC) parts of the auditory cortex. During the study, the researchers found that the group exposed to passive noise exhibited more mature and efficient processing and less theta-phase synchronization compared to the control group. The modulating effect of sound exposure on theta-phase synchrony in children aged 7 and 9 months affected language performance at 12 and 18 months.
The scientists concluded that not only music, but also short sound signals are analyzed by an infant’s developing brain and contribute to the formation of neural networks involved in speech processing. It was also found that a series of sounds that the baby heard at least once a week for six weeks helped him recognize syllables more accurately and developed his language faster at 12 and 18 months.
ancient scientists saidhow listening to music during pregnancy facilitates the baby’s speech process.