Newborn Babies' Ability to Anticipate Rhythm in Music Revealed by Researchers
Research has shown that newborn babies as young as eight or nine months old can anticipate rhythm in music, highlighting a fundamental human trait. The study, published in the journal Plos Biology, found that babies can detect and predict patterns relating to rhythm but not melody.
The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to collect brain activity data from sleeping newborns fitted with earphones, playing original pieces of music composed by Bach, as well as versions where pitches and note timings were shuffled. The team then analyzed the EEG signals from 49 newborns to see if the surprises in rhythm or melody were reflected in their brain activity.
The findings suggest that babies can track and predict rhythmic patterns in real music, with their brain activity reflecting surprises in rhythm but not melody. This implies that the human brain is biologically tuned to make predictions when listening to music, especially about rhythm, going beyond simply anticipating a regular interval.
The researchers propose that such abilities in newborns may have originated from basic biological and sensory experiences, including the repeated motion associated with the mother's walking during fetal development. The study's lead author, Dr. Roberta Bianco, noted that rhythmic structure remained relatively intact despite melodies being distorted while babies heard music in the womb.
The findings offer insights into how humans process music and highlight the universality of rhythm patterns across cultures. Professor Usha Goswami from the University of Cambridge praised the study's conclusions, suggesting a possible evolutionary perspective on speech processing that aligns with her own research on infants' language acquisition beginning with speech rhythm.
While Dr. Giovanni Di Liberto from Trinity College Dublin noted limitations in the study, he acknowledged that it opened up new avenues for studying music and its effects on human development. The researchers' discovery sheds light on a fundamental aspect of human cognition and the importance of rhythmic patterns in shaping our understanding of music.
Research has shown that newborn babies as young as eight or nine months old can anticipate rhythm in music, highlighting a fundamental human trait. The study, published in the journal Plos Biology, found that babies can detect and predict patterns relating to rhythm but not melody.
The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to collect brain activity data from sleeping newborns fitted with earphones, playing original pieces of music composed by Bach, as well as versions where pitches and note timings were shuffled. The team then analyzed the EEG signals from 49 newborns to see if the surprises in rhythm or melody were reflected in their brain activity.
The findings suggest that babies can track and predict rhythmic patterns in real music, with their brain activity reflecting surprises in rhythm but not melody. This implies that the human brain is biologically tuned to make predictions when listening to music, especially about rhythm, going beyond simply anticipating a regular interval.
The researchers propose that such abilities in newborns may have originated from basic biological and sensory experiences, including the repeated motion associated with the mother's walking during fetal development. The study's lead author, Dr. Roberta Bianco, noted that rhythmic structure remained relatively intact despite melodies being distorted while babies heard music in the womb.
The findings offer insights into how humans process music and highlight the universality of rhythm patterns across cultures. Professor Usha Goswami from the University of Cambridge praised the study's conclusions, suggesting a possible evolutionary perspective on speech processing that aligns with her own research on infants' language acquisition beginning with speech rhythm.
While Dr. Giovanni Di Liberto from Trinity College Dublin noted limitations in the study, he acknowledged that it opened up new avenues for studying music and its effects on human development. The researchers' discovery sheds light on a fundamental aspect of human cognition and the importance of rhythmic patterns in shaping our understanding of music.
They did an experiment with new born babies & found out they can even anticipate rhythm in music lol its like thier brains are wired to vibe w/ the beat! 
Apparently it has somethin 2 do w/ the motion of moms walkin while they r in the womb 
Can u imagine listening 2 a lullaby as a baby & just feelin the rhythm? 
It makes sense tho cuz ths skill is prob somethin we all have & its not just for music lovers lol we all love a good beat 
Babies can already anticipate rhythm in music? That's like, whoa! 
I mean, it makes total sense that they could pick up on that because we all love a good beat, right? 
Can you even imagine being in the womb and hearing your mom's heartbeat or something and just vibing to the rhythm of life? 
I love that they're exploring this further because it's wild to think about how our brains process music from such a young age. Can't wait for more studies on this! 
i mean i've always known my little one would be all about that beat but a 9 month old detecting rhythm is wild lol anyway it makes sense that they'd pick up on patterns bc who doesn't love a good lullaby or nursery rhyme? 
and can you imagine listening to bach in the womb? 
i wish someone would do a study on how babies react to music vs their parents' favorite jams lol anyway this is so cool and i'm all about that brain development 
this is so cool to think about how babies can already anticipate rhythm in music, it's like they're born with an innate sense of beat 
but seriously, it makes sense that our brains would be wired to detect patterns in music because of all the banging around we do as babies 
, but I'm not surprised 
And what's with the Bach stuff? Can't we use something more modern for once? 
. Anyway, I'm glad someone's finally looking into this, and it's cool that we're learning more about how our brains process music 
what's crazy is they can even detect patterns in rhythm but not melody lol how did this even happen? like, my mom used to sing these super catchy lullabies and now i know it was all about the beat hahaha maybe that's why i'm always dancing around the kitchen when my kid is playing music 
rhytm is like, super important for our brains or something? 
gotta ask though, what does this say about how we learn language? if babies can pick up on rhythm at such a young age, does that mean speech patterns aren't too far behind