Event Abstract Back to Event Music and language in the first days of life: fMRI studies of auditory processing in newborns Daniela Perani1, 2, 3, 4, P. Scifo2, 3, Danilo Spada5, G. Andreolli1, R. Rovelli6, C. Baldoli2, 3, S. Koelsch7, A. Friederici7 and M.C. Saccuman1, 2* 1 Vita-Salute San Raffaele University , Italy 2 San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy 3 C.E.R.M.A.C. San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy 4 National Neuroscience Institute, Italy 5 Psychology Institute, School of Medicine, Universita’degli Studi, Italy 6 Department of Neonatology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy 7 Max-Planck-Institute for Neuropsychology, Germany Human infants are inherently musical: they are equipped with the perceptual tools for analyzing subtle aspects of musical stimuli, and are strongly attracted to music. Music modulates their attention and arousal levels, and can provide pleasure or distress. The parallels between music and another uniquely human faculty, language, are clear: both are means of communication, consisting of patterned sequences of elements structured into sequences that convey meaning. In the first months of life, the link between language and music is even more direct. The melodious tones of infant-directed-speech modulate arousal and affect in infants, and guide acquisition of language skills. To this day, however, very little is known about the neural basis of music and language processing in the first days of life. We used fMRI to measure brain activity in 1-to-3-day-old newborns while they listened to music and speech excerpts, and to the same excerpts altered in their structural or prosodic content. We show that the newborn brain is able to process music and speech specifically and is sensitive to small perceptual and structural differences. This neural architecture is present at birth, providing the potential to process basic and complex aspects of music and speech, a uniquely human capacity. Conference: Tuning the Brain for Music, Helsinki, Finland, 5 Feb - 6 Feb, 2009. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Session Talks Citation: Perani D, Scifo P, Spada D, Andreolli G, Rovelli R, Baldoli C, Koelsch S, Friederici A and Saccuman M (2009). Music and language in the first days of life: fMRI studies of auditory processing in newborns. Conference Abstract: Tuning the Brain for Music. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.02.016 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 23 Jan 2009; Published Online: 23 Jan 2009. * Correspondence: M.C. Saccuman, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, saccuman.cristina@hsr.it Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Daniela Perani P. Scifo Danilo Spada G. Andreolli R. Rovelli C. Baldoli S. Koelsch A. Friederici M.C. Saccuman Google Daniela Perani P. Scifo Danilo Spada G. Andreolli R. Rovelli C. Baldoli S. Koelsch A. Friederici M.C. Saccuman Google Scholar Daniela Perani P. Scifo Danilo Spada G. Andreolli R. Rovelli C. Baldoli S. Koelsch A. Friederici M.C. Saccuman PubMed Daniela Perani P. Scifo Danilo Spada G. Andreolli R. Rovelli C. Baldoli S. Koelsch A. Friederici M.C. Saccuman Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.