Mother's voice seems to boost language development in premature babies

Regular exposure to a mothers voice enhances brain connectivity in premature infants, potentially accelerating their language development during critical early life stages.

• Research indicates that premature infants exposed to their mothers voice, such as through story readings, showed stronger connections in the arcuate fasciculus, a key brain area for language processing.
• The study involved treatment and control groups, with one group receiving audio recordings of mothers reading stories, leading to enhanced brain maturation compared to those without this exposure.
• Preterm birth is linked to developmental challenges, and this approach has the potential to improve the development of the nervous system in infants born too soon.
• Findings were derived from a study conducted in neonatal intensive care units, emphasizing the critical role of maternal interaction in early cognitive development.
• Infants who regularly heard their mother read stories demonstrated significant improvements in language-related brain structure, highlighting the importance of early auditory stimuli.