Babies Are Specially Attuned to Our Voices and Emotions

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110630122003.htm

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2011) — Young babies' brains are already specially attuned to the sounds of human voices and emotions, according to a report published online on June 30 in Current Biology.

Three- to seven-month-old infants showed more activation in a part of the brain when they heard emotionally neutral human sounds, such as coughing, sneezing, or yawning, than when they heard the familiar sounds of toys or water. That activity appeared in an area of the temporal lobe known in adults for its role in processing human vocalizations. The babies also showed greater response to sad sounds versus neutral ones in another part of the brain involved in emotion processing in adults.

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