from journal PLoS One
Does an unborn baby hear and does it remember what it hears? The answers come in a study from the University of Helsinki. Researchers asked pregnant women to play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” five times per week during the last trimester of their pregnancy, while another group of pregnant women played no music during that time. Brain activity of newly born babies was measured through their skin and again after four months to see if any learning had occurred. Brain activity was much stronger in the group of babies whose mothers played music and especially when they heard the original melody compared to when some of the original notes were changed. Researchers, writing in the journal PLoS ONE, say the study confirms that babies are capable of learning at a very young age—even in the weeks prior to birth.