Ma Yinchun, Zhang Jianming, Dang Ruochen, Wang Nan, Wang Yan, Yu Mei, Chen Mengmeng, Shen Peiting, Wang Quan, Huang Jinhua
Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, China; The First People's Hospital of Hefei, Hefei, China.
Key Laboratory of Biomedical Spectroscopy of Xi'an, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China.
Brain Res Bull. 2025 Jun 15;226:111370. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111370. Epub 2025 May 9.
Early infant phonological and non-phonological perceptual abilities are crucial for future language learning. Previous studies have focused on the changes in the cerebral cortex of infants and toddlers during speech perception, while the changes in the cerebral cortex during non-speech perception remain poorly understood.
This study aimed to investigate cortical activation patterns and differences in full-term healthy newborns under different speech and non-speech stimuli by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
The cohort included 36 full-term healthy neonates (7.4 ± 6.0 days) exposed to two types of speech stimuli (native Mandarin and non-native Spanish) and three non-speech stimuli (music, cat calls, and noise) in a block design. Brain activity was monitored across eight brain regions of interest (ROIs) were monitored using fNIRS (54 channels): frontal pole area (FPA), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), primary sensorimotor cortex, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), superior temporal gyrus (STG), fusiform gyrus (FFG), Wernicke's area, and Broca's area.
Mandarin stimulation activated all ROIs in newborns. Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations in FPA, MFG, STG, MTG, FFG, Wernicke's area, and Broca's area were significantly higher during Mandarin exposure compared to Spanish (p < 0.05). MTG activation was significantly greater during Mandarin exposure compared to cat calls (p = 0.005), music (p = 0.040), and noise (p < 0.001). Similarly, MFG and Broca's area showed significantly greater activation during music exposure compared to Spanish and noise stimuli (p < 0.05).
The newborn brain can perceive various speech and non-speech stimuli, demonstrating a preference for native language stimuli, followed by music. The ability to perceive non-native languages, animal calls, and noise appears more limited. These findings could provide some references for future research on infant and toddler language development.
早期婴儿的语音和非语音感知能力对未来语言学习至关重要。以往研究主要关注婴幼儿在语音感知过程中大脑皮层的变化，而对于非语音感知过程中大脑皮层的变化仍知之甚少。
本研究旨在通过功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）探究足月健康新生儿在不同语音和非语音刺激下的皮层激活模式及差异。
该队列研究纳入36名足月健康新生儿（7.4±6.0天），采用组块设计，使其暴露于两种语音刺激（母语普通话和非母语西班牙语）和三种非语音刺激（音乐、猫叫和噪音）中。使用fNIRS（54个通道）监测八个感兴趣脑区（ROI）的脑活动：额极区（FPA）、额中回（MFG）、初级感觉运动皮层、颞中回（MTG）、颞上回（STG）、梭状回（FFG）、韦尼克区和布洛卡区。
普通话刺激激活了新生儿的所有ROI。与西班牙语相比，普通话暴露期间FPA、MFG、STG、MTG、FFG、韦尼克区和布洛卡区的氧合血红蛋白浓度变化显著更高（p<0.05）。与猫叫（p=0.005）、音乐（p=0.040）和噪音（p<0.001）相比，普通话暴露期间MTG的激活显著更强。同样，与西班牙语和噪音刺激相比，音乐暴露期间MFG和布洛卡区的激活显著更强（p<0.05）。
新生儿大脑能够感知各种语音和非语音刺激，表现出对母语刺激的偏好，其次是音乐。感知非母语、动物叫声和噪音的能力似乎更有限。这些发现可为未来婴幼儿语言发展研究提供一些参考。
