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Study suggests sounds influence the developing brain earlier than previously thought

2021-02-12
(Press-News.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scientists have yet to answer the age-old question of whether or how sound shapes the minds of fetuses in the womb, and expectant mothers often wonder about the benefits of such activities as playing music during pregnancy. Now, in experiments in newborn mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins report that sounds appear to change "wiring" patterns in areas of the brain that process sound earlier than scientists assumed and even before the ear canal opens.

The current experiments involve newborn mice, which have ear canals that open 11 days after birth. In human fetuses, the ear canal opens prenatally, at about 20 weeks gestation.

The findings, published online Feb. 12 in END


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[Press-News.org] Study suggests sounds influence the developing brain earlier than previously thought