加拿大研究人員日前報告說,，新生兒大腦對母親的聲音反應更敏感，因為這有助于啟動新生兒大腦中主管語言學習的部分,。
加拿大蒙特利爾大學的研究人員在新一期英國學術刊物《大腦皮層》上發(fā)表文章說,，他們將電極連接在16名新生兒的頭部，觀察他們出生24小時內的大腦活動,。在此期間，研究者讓他們的母親和一名女護士先后短促地發(fā)出元音“a”,。
通過掃描這些新生兒的大腦,，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，孩子們大腦左半球中主管語言處理的部分只對母親的聲音有反應,。雖然新生兒對女護士的聲音也有反應,，但那些聲音只能使新生兒大腦右半球中主管聲音辨認的部分活躍起來。
研究人員說,，他們考慮到新生兒處理陌生人聲音時的新奇感,，特意安排母親在懷孕時與參加研究的女護士經(jīng)常接觸。另外,，研究人員還特意挑選與這些母親聲音非常相似的女護士,。
領導這項研究的瑪麗斯·拉松德說，研究結果令人興奮,，它證明了新生兒大腦對母親的聲音有強烈反應,，說明母親的聲音對嬰兒具有特殊意義?？梢哉f,，母親是嬰兒語言能力的最初啟蒙者。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Cerebral Cortex doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhq242
Mother and Stranger: An Electrophysiological Study of Voice Processing in Newborns
Maude Beauchemin1,2, Berta González-Frankenberger1,2, Julie Tremblay1, Phetsamone Vannasing1, Eduardo Martínez-Montes3, Pascal Belin4,5, Renée Béland1,2, Diane Francoeur1, Ana-Maria Carceller1, Fabrice Wallois6 and Maryse Lassonde1,2
Abstract
In the mature adult brain, there are voice selective regions that are especially tuned to familiar voices. Yet, little is known about how the infant's brain treats such information. Here, we investigated, using electrophysiology and source analyses, how newborns process their mother's voice compared with that of a stranger. Results suggest that, shortly after birth, newborns distinctly process their mother's voice at an early preattentional level and at a later presumably cognitive level. Activation sources revealed that exposure to the maternal voice elicited early language-relevant processing, whereas the stranger's voice elicited more voice-specific responses. A central probably motor response was also observed at a later time, which may reflect an innate auditory-articulatory loop. The singularity of left-dominant brain activation pattern together with its ensuing sustained greater central activation in response to the mother's voice may provide the first neurophysiologic index of the preferential mother's role in language acquisition.
