Fetus Heart Races When Mom Reads Poetry

Science Daily ^ | 5-12-03 | Editorial Staff

[vannrox]

Fetus Heart Races When Mom Reads Poetry; New Findings Reveal Fetuses Recognize Mother?s Voice In-utero

Kingston, Ont. -- New research findings on the ability of a fetus to recognize its mother's voice and even distinguish it from other female voices confirms what scientists have speculated about for more than 20 years - that experiences in the womb help shape newborn preferences and behaviour.

Dr. Barbara Kisilevsky, a Queen's University professor of nursing along with a team of psychologists at Queen's and obstetricians in Hangzhou, China, found that fetuses are capable of learning in the womb and can remember and recognize their mother's voice before they are even born. Their research findings are published in the current issue of the international journal Psychological Science.

While previous research on infant development has demonstrated that newborns prefer to listen to their own mother's voice to that of a female stranger and will even change their behaviour to elicit their mother's voice, Dr. Kisilevsky's research proves that this "preference/recognition" begins before birth.

"This is an extremely exciting finding that provides evidence of sustained attention, memory and learning by the fetus," says Dr Kisilevsky. "The fetuses learn about their mother's voice in the womb and then prefer it after birth. Our findings provide evidence that in-utero experience has an impact on newborn/infant behaviour and development and that voice recognition may play a role in mother-infant attachment."

The findings also suggest that the foundation for speech perception and language acquisition are laid before birth, says Dr. Kisilevsky. Therefore, the precocious language processing abilities observed in newborns and young infants may not be due to a hardwired speech-processing module in the brain as has been assumed, but instead stems from the interaction of the fetus with its environment.

Along with researchers at Zhejiang University, China, Dr. Kisilevsky tested 60 fetuses at term. Thirty fetuses were played a two-minute audiotape of their own mother reading a poem and 30 fetuses were played the voice of a female stranger reading the poem. The researchers found that the fetuses responded to their own mother's voice with heart-rate acceleration and to the stranger's voice with a heart-rate deceleration. The responses lasted during the two-minute tape as well as for at least two minutes after the offset of the voices.

"These results tell us that the fetuses heard and responded to both voices and that there was sustained attention to both voices," notes Dr. Kisilevsky. "But, because they responded differently to the two voices, we know they had to recognize their own mother's voice. We believe they are probably already learning about language in general and their own language specifically."

Dr. Kisilevsky's team is now investigating both fetal response to the father's voice and the ability of the fetus to differentiate between English and Mandarin. In 2000, Dr. Kisilevsky's research team proved that fetuses hear by the third trimester of pregnancy.

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Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued for journalists and other members of the public. If you wish to quote any part of this story, please credit Queen's University as the original source. You may also wish to include the following link in any citation:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030513080440.htm

[vannrox]

!

[presidio9]

Blob of tissue bump.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

But the pro-abortion freaks of planned parenthood (never capitalized) told me that the fetus is just a mass of tissue!

(sarcasm)

[livius]

Somehow this detail (that unborn babies recognize the voices of their mothers) makes the horror of abortion even more horrible, if such is possible.

Ping to a few possibly interested folks.

[nutmeg]

FYI

[hang 'em]

Can't blame 'em. I hate poetry too.

[Lazamataz]

"These results tell us that the fetuses heard and responded to both voices and that there was sustained attention to both voices," notes Dr. Kisilevsky. "But, because they responded differently to the two voices, we know they had to recognize their own mother's voice. We believe they are probably already learning about language in general and their own language specifically."

You mean to say that in order to learn Chinese, I must live in the womb of an attractive chinese woman for a while?

Okay.

[cgk]

ping!

[VRWCmember]

Do the preborn have a preference for Dr Seuss?

[dirtboy]

Fetus Heart Races When Mom Reads Poetry

What was the mom reading - "There once was a man from Nantucket?"

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

poetry

[Grut]

Not very new. I took classes forty years ago from a man (Dr. Bill McGarvey) who'd done research into fetal learning many years before that....

[HighRoadToChina]

BUMP!!!

[Fearless Flyers]

Carol,

I don't know why this is disturbing to me but it is.

Thought you may be interested in this article.

Hope you all are shinning down yonder.

Matthew

[MHGinTN]

I would love to see studies done to compare what level of awareness persists with caesarean born versus vaginal delivery children ... how the awareness level may correlate to trauma in delivery. [Oh, and Laz, I don't know that we could find a big enough lady for your womb habitation to occur. As I recall, you're around six foot and 160 lbs.?]

[votelife]

Dear President Bush,
With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

[MarMema]

ping