Language heard while still in the womb found to impact brain development

[Eldorado]

A team of neuroscientists at the University of Padua, in Italy, working with a colleague from CNRS and Université Paris Cité, has found evidence suggesting that neural development of babies still in the womb is impacted by the language they hear spoken by their mothers as they carry them.

Prior research has shown that babies still in the womb (starting at about seven months) can hear when their mother speaks. They can also hear other sounds, such as other voices, music, and general noise. They can also recognize their mother's voice after birth and specific melodies related to her speech. Less well understood is what sort of impact hearing such things has on the neural development of the baby's brain.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-language-heard-womb-impact-brain.html

Prenatal experience with language shapes the brain

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj3524