Brains Of Babies | Neurology Diagnostics

At 7 months infants and distinguish emotions through voice

May 5th, 2010 |

The brains of babies at 7 months shows a sensitivity to the human voice and the emotions communicated through the voice that is very similar to that observed in the brains of adults, according to a study by the University of London in United Kingdom published in the journal Neuron.

The study proves the origins of voice processing in the human brain and could provide information on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Scientists at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at the University of London, led by Tobias Grossmann, conducted their study in the laboratory of Angela D. Friederici Max Planck Institute in Cognitive Science and Human Brain in Germany. The researchers used near infrared spectroscopy to investigate when during development the regions of the temporal cortex became sensitive to the human voice. These specific cortical regions have had an important role in spoken language processing in adults.

Grossmann’s team found that children of seven months and not four months showed greater responses similar to those of adults in the temporal cortex as a result of the human voice compared with no vowel sounds, suggesting that sensitivity to voice emerges between 4 and 7 months of age. Read the rest of this entry »