Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
J Biosci. 2013 Sep;38(3):605-14. doi: 10.1007/s12038-013-9341-8.
Sensory stimulation has a critical role to play in the development of an individual. Environmental factors tend to modify the inputs received by the sensory pathway. The developing brain is most vulnerable to these alterations and interacts with the environment to modify its neural circuitry. In addition to other sensory stimuli, auditory stimulation can also act as external stimuli to provide enrichment during the perinatal period. There is evidence that suggests that enriched environment in the form of auditory stimulation can play a substantial role in modulating plasticity during the prenatal period. This review focuses on the emerging role of prenatal auditory stimulation in the development of higher brain functions such as learning and memory in birds and mammals. The molecular mechanisms of various changes in the hippocampus following sound stimulation to effect neurogenesis, learning and memory are described. Sound stimulation can also modify neural connectivity in the early postnatal life to enhance higher cognitive function or even repair the secondary damages in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Thus, it becomes imperative to examine in detail the possible ameliorating effects of prenatal sound stimulation in existing animal models of various psychiatric disorders, such as autism.
感觉刺激在个体发育中起着关键作用。环境因素往往会改变感觉通路接收到的输入。发育中的大脑对这些变化最为敏感，并与环境相互作用，改变其神经回路。除了其他感觉刺激外，听觉刺激也可以作为外部刺激，在围产期提供丰富的环境。有证据表明，丰富的听觉刺激环境可以在调节产前可塑性方面发挥重要作用。本综述重点介绍了产前听觉刺激在鸟类和哺乳动物学习和记忆等高级脑功能发育中的新作用。描述了声音刺激后海马体中各种变化的分子机制如何影响神经发生、学习和记忆。声音刺激还可以改变出生后早期的神经连接，以增强更高的认知功能，甚至修复各种神经和精神疾病的继发性损伤。因此，有必要在各种精神疾病（如自闭症）的现有动物模型中详细研究产前声音刺激的可能改善效果。
