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Movalled K, Sani A, Nikniaz L, Ghojazadeh M. The impact of sound stimulations during pregnancy on fetal learning: a systematic review. BMC Pediatr 2023; 23:183. [PMID: 37081418 PMCID: PMC10116668 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-023-03990-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The developing nervous system in utero is exposed to various stimuli with effects that may be carried forward to the neonatal period. This study aims to investigate the effects of sound stimulation (music and speech) on fetal memory and learning, which was assessed later in neonatal period. METHODS The MEDLINE (pubmed), Scopus, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched. Two reviewers selected the studies and extracted the data independently. The quality of eligible studies was assessed using The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). RESULTS Overall 3930 articles were retrieved and eight studies met the inclusion criteria. All of the included studies had good general quality; however, high risk of selection and detection bias was detected in most of them. Fetal learning was examined through neonatal electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), habituation tests, and behavioral responses. Seven studies showed that the infants had learned the fetal sound stimulus and one study indicated that the prenatally stimulated infants performed significantly better on a neonatal behavior test. There was considerable diversity among studies in terms of sound stimulation type, characteristics (intensity and frequency), and duration, as well as outcome assessment methods. CONCLUSIONS Prenatal sound stimulation including music and speech can form stimulus-specific memory traces during fetal period and effect neonatal neural system. Further studies with precisely designed methodologies that follow safety recommendations, are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anis Sani
- Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
| | - Leila Nikniaz
- Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Morteza Ghojazadeh
- Professor of Physiology, Iranian Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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Kumar N, Kamath S, Kumar G, Vaishali K, Sinha MK, Amin R, Chamallamudi MR. Prenatal Learning and Memory: Review on the Impact of Exposure. Curr Pediatr Rev 2023; 19:108-120. [PMID: 35652394 DOI: 10.2174/1573396318666220601160537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal Learning is a topic still debated for its existence, although the concept is well known since ancient times. OBJECTIVE The present review highlights the impact of various stimuli on learning and memory in prenatal and postnatal life. METHODS For review, various articles from preclinical and clinical studies providing early pieces of evidence of prenatal learning to date were included based on the relevancy of the databases, namely, Scopus, Pubmed, and Google Scholar. RESULTS Learning is the process of acquiring skills/ preferences/ habits from the experiences of the exposures of the past. These exposures are the stimuli, which help in categorizing learning into associated or nonassociated learning. The stimuli of adults related to auditory, gustatory, olfactory, visual, touch, etc. are also accessible to the prenatal life in utero either directly or indirectly through the mother. The effects of these stimuli are remarkable during prenatal life and can be seen clearly in infants. These stimuli play an important role in prenatal learning and contribute to neuronal development. The present review summarizes the pieces of evidence for each of these types of learning & their impact on the ex utero life, a futuristic view & the scope of understanding prenatal learning. The review also elucidates the factors affecting prenatal learning. CONCLUSION Studies from clinical and preclinical studies reflected the impacts of several aspects of an infant's life and the memory created during prenatal life was found to be most likely carried on to postnatal life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitesh Kumar
- Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India.,Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hajipur-844102, Bihar, India
| | - Sushmitha Kamath
- Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
| | - Gautam Kumar
- Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
| | - K Vaishali
- Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
| | - Mukesh Kumar Sinha
- Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
| | - Revati Amin
- Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
| | - Mallikarjuna Rao Chamallamudi
- Department of Pharmacology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka- 576104, India
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Lang A, Ott P, del Giudice R, Schabus M. Memory Traces Formed in Utero-Newborns' Autonomic and Neuronal Responses to Prenatal Stimuli and the Maternal Voice. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10110837. [PMID: 33187287 PMCID: PMC7697227 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10110837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In our pilot study, we exposed third-trimester fetuses, from week 34 of gestation onwards, twice daily to a maternal spoken nursery rhyme. Two and five weeks after birth, 34 newborns, who were either familiarized with rhyme stimulation in utero or stimulation naïve, were (re-)exposed to the familiar, as well as to a novel and unfamiliar, rhyme, both spoken with the maternal and an unfamiliar female voice. For the stimulation-naïve group, both rhymes were unfamiliar. During stimulus presentation, heart rate activity and high-density electroencephalography were collected and newborns’ responses during familiar and unfamiliar stimulation were analyzed. All newborns demonstrated stronger speech–brain coupling at 1 Hz during the presentation of the maternal voice vs. the unfamiliar female voice. Rhyme familiarity originating from prenatal exposure had no effect on speech–brain coupling in experimentally stimulated newborns. Furthermore, only stimulation-naïve newborns demonstrated an increase in heart rate during the presentation of the unfamiliar female voice. The results indicate prenatal familiarization to auditory speech and point to the specific significance of the maternal voice already in two- to five-week-old newborns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adelheid Lang
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS), Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;
- Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (P.O.); (R.d.G.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +43-662-8044-5113
| | - Peter Ott
- Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (P.O.); (R.d.G.)
- Information Technology and Systems Management, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Renata del Giudice
- Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (P.O.); (R.d.G.)
- Department of Mental Health, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy
- San Paolo University Hospital, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, 20142 Milan, Italy
| | - Manuel Schabus
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS), Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;
- Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria; (P.O.); (R.d.G.)
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Sleep, Little Baby: The Calming Effects of Prenatal Speech Exposure on Newborns' Sleep and Heartrate. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10080511. [PMID: 32748860 PMCID: PMC7464711 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10080511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In a pilot study, 34 fetuses were stimulated daily with a maternal spoken nursery rhyme from week 34 of gestation onward and re-exposed two and five weeks after birth to this familiar, as well as to an unfamiliar rhyme, both spoken with the maternal and an unfamiliar female voice. During auditory stimulation, newborns were continuously monitored with polysomnography using video-monitored hdEEG. Afterward, changes in sleep–wake-state proportions during familiar and unfamiliar voice stimulation were analyzed. Our preliminary results demonstrate a general calming effect of auditory stimulation exclusively in infants who were prenatally “familiarized” with a spoken nursery rhyme, as evidenced by less waking states, more time spent in quiet (deep) sleep, and lower heartrates. A stimulation naïve group, on the other hand, demonstrated no such effects. Stimulus-specific effects related to the familiarity of the prenatally replayed voice or rhyme were not evident in newborns. Together, these results suggest “fetal learning” at a basic level and point to a familiarization with auditory stimuli prior to birth, which is evident in the first weeks of life in behavioral states and heartrate physiology of the newborn.
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Minai U, Gustafson K, Fiorentino R, Jongman A, Sereno J. Fetal rhythm-based language discrimination: a biomagnetometry study. Neuroreport 2018; 28:561-564. [PMID: 28538518 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000000794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Using fetal biomagnetometry, this study measured changes in fetal heart rate to assess discrimination of two rhythmically different languages (English and Japanese). Two-minute passages in English and Japanese were read by the same female bilingual speaker. Twenty-four mother-fetus pairs (mean gestational age=35.5 weeks) participated. Fetal magnetocardiography was recorded while the participants were presented first with passage 1, a passage in English, and then, following an 18 min interval, with passage 2, either a different passage in English (English-English condition: N=12) or in Japanese (English-Japanese condition: N=12). The fetal magnetocardiogram was reconstructed following independent components analysis decomposition. The mean interbeat intervals were calculated for a 30 s baseline interval directly preceding each passage and for the first 30 s of each passage. We then subtracted the mean interbeat interval of the 30 s baseline interval from that of the first 30 s interval, yielding an interbeat interval change value for each passage. A significant interaction between condition and passage indicated that the English-Japanese condition elicited a more robust interbeat interval change for passage 2 (novelty phase) than for passage 1 (familiarity phase), reflecting a faster heart rate during passage 2, whereas the English-English condition did not. This effect indicates that fetuses are sensitive to the change in language from English to Japanese. These findings provide the first evidence for fetal language discrimination as assessed by fetal biomagnetometry and support the hypothesis that rhythm constitutes a prenatally available building block in language acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utako Minai
- aDepartment of Linguistics, University of Kansas, Lawrence bHoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
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Krueger C, Garvan C. Emergence and retention of learning in early fetal development. Infant Behav Dev 2014; 37:162-73. [PMID: 24548971 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2013] [Revised: 11/14/2013] [Accepted: 12/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Prior research has demonstrated that the late-term fetus is capable of learning and then remembering a passage of speech for several days, but there are no data to describe the earliest emergence of learning a passage of speech, and thus, how long that learning could be remembered before birth. This study investigated these questions. Pregnant women began reciting or speaking a passage out loud (either Rhyme A or Rhyme B) when their fetuses were 28 weeks gestational age (GA) and continued to do so until their fetuses reached 34 weeks of age, at which time the recitations stopped. Fetuses' learning and memory of their rhyme were assessed at 28, 32, 33, 34, 36 and 38 weeks. The criterion for learning and memory was the occurrence of a stimulus-elicited heart rate deceleration following onset of a recording of the passage spoken by a female stranger. Detection of a sustained heart rate deceleration began to emerge by 34 weeks GA and was statistically evident at 38 weeks GA. Thus, fetuses begin to show evidence of learning by 34 weeks GA and, without any further exposure to it, are capable of remembering until just prior to birth. Further study using dose-response curves is needed in order to more fully understand how ongoing experience, in the context of ongoing development in the last trimester of pregnancy, affects learning and memory.
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Reissland N, Francis B, Mason J. Can healthy fetuses show facial expressions of "pain" or "distress"? PLoS One 2013; 8:e65530. [PMID: 23755245 PMCID: PMC3673977 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2013] [Accepted: 04/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With advances of research on fetal behavioural development, the question of whether we can identify fetal facial expressions and determine their developmental progression, takes on greater importance. In this study we investigate longitudinally the increasing complexity of combinations of facial movements from 24 to 36 weeks gestation in a sample of healthy fetuses using frame-by-frame coding of 4-D ultrasound scans. The primary aim was to examine whether these complex facial movements coalesce into a recognisable facial expression of pain/distress. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS Fifteen fetuses (8 girls, 7 boys) were observed four times in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Fetuses showed significant progress towards more complex facial expressions as gestational age increased. Statistical analysis of the facial movements making up a specific facial configuration namely "pain/distress" also demonstrates that this facial expression becomes significantly more complete as the fetus matures. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The study shows that one can determine the normal progression of fetal facial movements. Furthermore, our results suggest that healthy fetuses progress towards an increasingly complete pain/distress expression as they mature. We argue that this is an adaptive process which is beneficial to the fetus postnatally and has the potential to identify normal versus abnormal developmental pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Reissland
- Department of Psychology, University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom.
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Kisilevsky BS, Hains SM. Authors’ response to commentary by DeCasper et al. on Kisilevsky and Hains, ‘Onset and maturation of fetal heart rate response to the mother’s voice over late gestation’. Dev Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.01028.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Rochat P. The self as phenotype. Conscious Cogn 2011; 20:109-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2010.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2010] [Revised: 09/09/2010] [Accepted: 09/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Sandman CA. Human fetal heart rate: a unique opportunity to assess the fetal programming hypothesis. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2010. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Sheridan CJ, Matuz T, Draganova R, Eswaran H, Preissl H. Fetal Magnetoencephalography - Achievements and Challenges in the Study of Prenatal and Early Postnatal Brain Responses: A Review. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2010; 19:80-93. [PMID: 20209112 DOI: 10.1002/icd.657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Fetal magnetoencephalography (fMEG) is the only non-invasive method for investigating evoked brain responses and spontaneous brain activity generated by the fetus in utero. Fetal auditory as well as visual evoked fields have been successfully recorded in basic stimulus-response studies. Moreover, paradigms investigating precursors for cognitive development, such as habituation and mismatch response have been applied successfully with fMEG. These and other studies have shown that the prenatal stage of life could be an important indicator for later cognitive development. This review addresses the achievements of fMEG and constructively discusses its challenges. It concludes with proposals for future studies as well as with designated new applications. Fetal MEG is a promising, and to date it is the only non-invasive approach for the prenatal assessment of precursors for cognitive development. Future fMEG studies might even enable the diagnosis of developmental delays. Furthermore, fMEG could be critical for the implementation and evaluation of fetal intervention programs in at-risk populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin J Sheridan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham # 518, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
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