Do Infants Comprehend Speech?

Contrary to established beliefs, the British children’s psychologists discovered that infants under 4 months of age are not able to distinguish human speech from other ambient sounds.

It is only by the age of seven months when babies start comprehending the vocal emotion expression. Scientists drew such conclusion based on the brain scans of infants that were conducted to observe their response to the voice. Scientists observed those brain regions which are involved in comprehending voice signals in adults. They found that infant’s brain start recognizing and analyzing the speech only after four months of age.

Furthermore, the scientists discovered that higher emotional intensity of speech creates better response in baby’s brain. You can read the full study in the scientific journal Pediatrics.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/jpv.