Newborn brain activity reacts more to infant crying than speech

An international research study published in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience has revealed that the brains of newborns react more strongly to the cries of other infants than to human speech. While previous studies suggested a natural predisposition toward the human voice due to prenatal exposure, this new research indicates that crying triggers a more intense neural response in the first days of life.

To reach these findings, researchers used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure brain activity in 25 newborns, aged one to four days, at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris. Their responses were compared to 27 Italian adults who did not understand French. While the adults showed significantly higher brain activation when listening to spoken French phrases, the newborns exhibited more intense activity in the temporal regions of the right hemisphere when hearing recordings of other babies crying.

Researchers suggest this heightened sensitivity may be linked to the fact that crying is the first vocal signal a baby produces to communicate. The study involved collaboration between institutions including the University of Deusto in Spain and the University of Padua in Italy.