Abstract
The primary aim of this viewpoint article is to examine recent literature on fetal and neonatal processing of music. In particular, we examine the behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging literature describing fetal and neonatal music perception and processing to the first days of term equivalent life. Secondly, in light of the recent systematic reviews published on this topic, we discuss the impact of music interventions on the potential neuroplasticity pathways through which the early exposure to music, live or recorded, may impact the fetal, preterm, and full-term infant brain. We conclude with recommendations for music stimuli selection and its role within the framework of early socioemotional development and environmental enrichment.
Highlights
The human brain is both wired with innate music abilities and shaped by music experience, starting in utero and continuing across the lifespan [1]
Part of the mechanism underlying music processing might be explained by simple sound processing, music perception is more than the sum of its basic acoustic features
The results, were called to be read with caution due to the potential conceptual flaws in the interpretation of the findings presented by the authors [44]
Summary
The human brain is both wired with innate music abilities and shaped by music experience, starting in utero and continuing across the lifespan [1]. Much less is known on the effect of music intervention on direct measures of brain function and structure or on short- and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes In this viewpoint review, we will firstly summarize current knowledge on the emergence and development of music processing during fetal and early postnatal life. Authors used psychophysiological analysis to show that, unlike preterm infants without previous music listening or full-term newborns, preterm infants who listened to music from 33 weeks of gestation until term equivalent age show an increased functional connectivity between the primary auditory cortex and the thalamus and the middle cingulate cortex and the striatum, when listening again to the known music These brain regions have been linked to tempo, familiarity, pleasantness, and arousing music processing, suggesting that these abilities might be modulated by music exposure during the week preceding term equivalent age
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