Psychology, University of Dundee, Park Place, Dundee, DD14HN, United Kingdom.
O&G Ultrasound Department, Ninewells Hospital, The University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom; BabyBond Scotland, Dundee, United Kingdom.
Infant Behav Dev. 2021 May;63:101562. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101562. Epub 2021 Apr 5.
The main aim of this study was to uncover any evidence for communicative engagement in foetuses. Taking into consideration the continuity of development pre- and postnatally, the social responsiveness of the newborn baby and the development of sensorimotor competence in the foetus, it is plausible to assume that communicative readiness develops before birth. During the interactive and noninteractive applications of three conditions: the mother's voice, the touch of her abdomen and a control condition, foetuses' (N = 12, 2-33 gestational weeks) behaviours were recorded through 4D scanning using Voluson S10 ultrasound and coded frame-by-frame. Foetuses displayed differential right-hand self-touch behaviours in response to the mother's touch. There was a reduction of this movement when the mother was touching her abdomen, compared to when the mother was talking or during the baseline conditions. There was also a reduction in right-hand touch responses during the interactive touch condition but not during interactive talk condition. A similar result was found with regards to right-hand face touch responses. Foetuses displayed a longer duration of mouth opening in the interactive talk condition compared to the noninteractive talk condition. During the first 60 s, foetuses showed a significant increase in sucking behaviours during the interactive touch condition, compared to all other conditions. This is the first study to compare interactive versus noninteractive engagement of the foetus. The findings of this study suggest that foetuses in the third trimester discriminate between interactive and non-interactive external stimuli and respond to contingent interactions.
本研究的主要目的是揭示胎儿是否存在交际参与的证据。考虑到产前和产后发育的连续性、新生儿的社会反应能力以及胎儿感觉运动能力的发展，可以合理地假设交际准备在出生前就已经发展了。在三种条件下（母亲的声音、触摸她的腹部和对照条件）的互动和非互动应用中，通过使用 Voluson S10 超声进行的 4D 扫描记录了胎儿（N=12，2-33 孕周）的行为，并逐帧进行了编码。胎儿对母亲的触摸表现出不同的右手自我触摸行为。与母亲说话或在基线条件下相比，当母亲触摸自己的腹部时，这种运动减少了。在互动触摸条件下，右手触摸反应减少，但在互动谈话条件下则没有。在右手触摸脸部的反应中也发现了类似的结果。与非互动谈话条件相比，胎儿在互动谈话条件下张口时间更长。在最初的 60 秒内，与其他所有条件相比，胎儿在互动触摸条件下吮吸行为显著增加。这是第一项比较胎儿互动与非互动参与的研究。本研究的结果表明，妊娠晚期的胎儿可以区分互动和非互动的外部刺激，并对伴随的互动做出反应。
