Baby brainwaves measured in womb - BBC

BBC News Online ^ | 9-6-02

[Oldeconomybuyer]

A test which can measure the electrical signals in the foetal brain could one day help doctors protect babies from damage sustained in the womb.

It is one of the first times that the activity of the brain has been measured, and showed that foetuses could even respond to a bright light shining through their mothers' abdomen.

The research, carried out by scientists at the University of Arkansas, in the US, used a technique called magnetoencephalography (MEG).

Nerve activity in the brain involves tiny electrical impulses, and this technique relies on the principle that even the smallest of these creates a magnetic field.

The device employed by the researchers can measure miniscule fluctuations in magnetic fields using a superconductor cooled by liquid helium.

It is a fascinating area, and very little is understood about how the foetal brain develops

Dr Penny Gowland, University of Nottingham

To test the device, 10 pregnant women with foetuses aged between 28 and 36 weeks leaned into an array of 151 sensors around their "bumps".

A fibreoptic cable was then used to deliver light pulses - about 11 times less intense than sunlight on a bright day.

The mother and the foetus both produce a strong magnetic signal because of the electrical discharges from their respective heart beats, but scientists were able to screen these out and look instead for signs of a response to the flashing light.

Sleeping brains

Four out of the 10 foetuses had measurable brain responses to the light, with reaction times better in the more highly developed foetuses.

The scientists did not believe that no response from the other six was a reason for concern, they may simply have been asleep or facing in the wrong direction.

The practical benefits of this scanning system could prevent, or at least lessen brain deficits caused by lack of nutrients from the placenta.

A frequent cause of disability is that the placenta - the link between the blood supply of foetus and mother - is "starving" the baby of the nutrients essential for proper brain development.

In some cases, this may cause the baby to be born with a brain defect such as cerebral palsy.

If "placental starving" is suspected, in some cases it might be better, later in pregnancy, to deliver the baby prematurely - but premature babies face other risks, and it is hard to judge which course of action is for the best.

A test which could determine the level of foetal brain activity might help doctors make this decision.

Research chance

Dr Penny Gowland, from the University of Nottingham, believes that this is the most obvious potential benefit of the technique.

She said: "It is a fascinating area, and very little is understood about how the foetal brain develops. This kind of thing may help us do that.

"One day, perhaps, it may help answer questions such as whether it is beneficial to the brain to play Mozart to your baby in the womb - but that is a long way off and certainly not the focus of current research."

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Friday, 6 September, 2002, 14:15 GMT 15:15 UK

Baby brainwaves measured in womb

The developing foetus can sense sound and light

[joesnuffy]

A test which can measure the electrical signals in the foetal brain could one day help doctors protect babies from damage sustained in the womb.

Now if could only save them from their worste nightmare....the abortion mill....and mothers coerced by femanazis

[wretchard]

This article, from the BBC no less, cannot possibly be true. Everyone knows that a fetus has no brain, no conciousness, no personality and no legal standing. How can you measure the feelings of a vegetable?

Wrong. Wrong and wrong. Roe versus Wade clearly shows that a fetus is merely a lump of tissue, no different from a cuticle or a hangnail. Any suggestion that this cuticle or hangnail has any intrinsic value, other than as a source of biological material, is the product of right-wing fantasy.

This test, dignified with the sonorous title of "magnetoencephalography", must be denounced along with all other types of Nazi science, like the SAT. Only in socialist Cuba ... yada, yada, yada ...

[egarvue]

The developing fetus can sense sound and light...and they are still prime targets for murder. Us pro-lifers should stop using any sort of religious argument in our fight against the abortionists - religion won't convince them, or shame them. But we should be attacking them with their own weapons, science and humanism. Every year, science hands us more and more evidence of the humanity of the fetus. The tenants of basic humanism demand that we protect all humanity, thus how could we stand for the in-womb murder of our fellow human beings. I personally never bring up religion in my conversations about abortion, I defeat the pro-aboritonists on their own turf with scientific data like this article.

[F16Fighter]

bttt

[Outlaw76]

"I defeat the pro-aboritonists on their own turf with scientific data like this article. "

I agree with you egarvue. Most people, even pro-death folks know deep down in their hearts that it is incredibly wrong for a mother to kill her child. I have seen poeple change oppinions very quickly when you help them see it that way.

[weikel]

Since I take a scientific view of the beginning of life I would outlaw all abortions except before the period where brain waves appear.

[ER_in_OC,CA]

Remember that late-term Abortion argument in the Senate a couple of years ago where Boxer wouldn't agree that a baby at full term with a single toe left in the womb was worthy of protection from death by the hands of the doctor?

Senator Boxer, we've shown that the baby's brain at least 28 weeks is functioning. And we've shown that the baby's heart is beating. Several examples show that a baby at this state of development is viable. Tell us ... is it a baby in your mind yet, or still just a lump of useless tissue?

I actually know that she wouldn't agree the baby has any value other than what the mother's mind gives her. If the mother "wants her," then Boxer would consider her a "baby." If the mother decided not to have the baby, then Boxer considers her just a lump of goo. Sick.

[dpa5923]

Do we know at which point brain waves start or do we know at which point we can detect brain waves?

Serious question 'cause I don't know the answer. If it's the later, shouldn't we err on the side of caution.

[weikel]

Im an EE major. So I would think we could detect that now but I do not know for certain. If they were high frequency AND low amplitude there is a chance they might go undetected.

[nickcarraway]

ping