Speaker
Description
Rhythm perception and production start very early in human ontogeny as already the foetus can appreciate rhythmic patterns (e.g., maternal movements) and produce rhythmic behaviours (e.g., Non-Nutritive Sucking, NNS). This early sensitivity to rhythm is thought to be crucial for later development of various cognitive functions, including language, but the link to attention is unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of rhythm and prenatal rhythmic stimulation on postnatal attention skills. To this end, from 29 weeks pregnant, two groups of women were enrolled in either a rhythmic (G1) or non-rhythmic (G0) stimulation protocol. Postnatal attention skills were tested at birth and 2 months. At birth we measured NNS rate in response to rhythmic vs non-rhythmic sounds, and how quickly newborns shifted their gaze in an overlap task involving a rhythmic, non-rhythmic or static central cue and a static peripheral target. This latter task was administered also at 2-months to test the long-term effects of the prenatal stimulation.
Results showed that newborns’ NNS was faster while listening to rhythmic vs. non-rhythmic sounds, and, in G1, this effect increased as a function of the amount of prenatal stimulation (p < .01). At 2 months, all infants disengaged attention faster from the rhythmic vs. non-rhythmic S1 (p < .001), but only newborns in G1 showed this same effect at birth (p = .02). This research provides the first demonstration that prenatal rhythmic stimulation improves postnatal attention abilities, adding to earlier evidence of developmental continuity across the perinatal period.
| If you're submitting a symposium talk, what's the symposium title? | The Beat and Beyond: Unveiling the Roots, Development, and Applications of Human Musical Rhythm. |
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