Study: Talking to Babies May Help Shape Brain

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Image copyright: Nicola Davies/The Guardian

The Facts

  • A study has found that toddlers who hear more speech in everyday life have more myelin in language-related areas of their brains. The more one speaks to a toddler, the more it helps their brains to develop in early childhood the study claims.

  • Myelin is a fatty substance that forms around nerves, including those in the brain. Myelin allows electrical impulses to fire more quickly and efficiently.

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The Spin

Narrative A

These exciting new findings could support a more sophisticated understanding of language processing. Although previous work has shown a similar association in four to six-year-olds, this new research has pushed this association much earlier in development. As the first study of its kind, this offers important foundations for furthering our understanding of childhood development.

UEA

Narrative B

The gist of this knowledge has been around for ages. Parents who engage in reading, singing, and talking with their children build an early foundation for language acquisition. A simple daily activity such as making funny faces while playing or pointing out objects in a book can help infants learn new words. Humans are social creatures.

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