Newborn Babies Can Anticipate Rhythm in Music, Research Reveals
A groundbreaking study published in Plos Biology has found that newborn babies can anticipate rhythm in music, providing insights into a fundamental human trait. Researchers discovered that babies as young as eight or nine months old can detect and predict patterns relating to rhythm, but not melody.
The study used electroencephalography (EEG) to collect brain activity data from sleeping newborns fitted with earphones. The babies were played pieces of music composed by Bach, both in their original form and with shuffled pitches and note timings. The team analyzed the EEG signals from 49 newborns to see if the surprises were reflected in their brain activity.
The results showed that babies could track and predict rhythmic patterns in real music, but not in shuffled versions where rhythms were disrupted. This suggests that the human brain is biologically tuned to make predictions when listening to music, especially about rhythm.
According to Dr. Roberta Bianco, the first author of the research, this ability may be part of our biological toolkit, while melody is something we grow into through learning after birth. The study's findings also suggest that babies' brains are wired to detect patterns in music and learn how those patterns unfold over time.
The researchers believe that such abilities in newborns probably had their roots in very basic biological and sensory experiences. Before birth, the foetal environment is dominated by regular rhythms, such as the mother's heartbeat and the repeated motion associated with her walking. These early experiences may provide the brain with an early sense of timing and predictability.
The study's conclusions have been praised by experts, including Dr. Giovanni Di Liberto of Trinity College Dublin, who noted that it opens up the possibility of studying whether mothers played music to their babies before they were born.
Overall, this research provides new insights into the way we perceive and process music from a young age, highlighting the importance of rhythm in shaping our musical experiences and preferences.
A groundbreaking study published in Plos Biology has found that newborn babies can anticipate rhythm in music, providing insights into a fundamental human trait. Researchers discovered that babies as young as eight or nine months old can detect and predict patterns relating to rhythm, but not melody.
The study used electroencephalography (EEG) to collect brain activity data from sleeping newborns fitted with earphones. The babies were played pieces of music composed by Bach, both in their original form and with shuffled pitches and note timings. The team analyzed the EEG signals from 49 newborns to see if the surprises were reflected in their brain activity.
The results showed that babies could track and predict rhythmic patterns in real music, but not in shuffled versions where rhythms were disrupted. This suggests that the human brain is biologically tuned to make predictions when listening to music, especially about rhythm.
According to Dr. Roberta Bianco, the first author of the research, this ability may be part of our biological toolkit, while melody is something we grow into through learning after birth. The study's findings also suggest that babies' brains are wired to detect patterns in music and learn how those patterns unfold over time.
The researchers believe that such abilities in newborns probably had their roots in very basic biological and sensory experiences. Before birth, the foetal environment is dominated by regular rhythms, such as the mother's heartbeat and the repeated motion associated with her walking. These early experiences may provide the brain with an early sense of timing and predictability.
The study's conclusions have been praised by experts, including Dr. Giovanni Di Liberto of Trinity College Dublin, who noted that it opens up the possibility of studying whether mothers played music to their babies before they were born.
Overall, this research provides new insights into the way we perceive and process music from a young age, highlighting the importance of rhythm in shaping our musical experiences and preferences.
can you believe it? newborns already got some crazy timing skills lol... I mean its kinda cool that they can anticipate rhythm but like what about all the annoying songs their parents play for them? 
still a great find tho, maybe thats why we love certain tunes from day one 
This is so cool! I mean, who knew newborns could even anticipate rhythm in music? 
It makes total sense though - can you imagine being in the womb and hearing your mom's heartbeat all day? 
That'd definitely teach you to recognize a beat! 
And it's wild that they found babies as young as 8-9 months old could do this... I wonder if we'll ever know what kinda music our parents listened to when they were growing up 
This study is giving me all the feels, especially since it highlights how babies learn from their environment and develop these musical patterns over time. It's like, our little ones are born DJs - they're already anticipating the drop! 
. Are they just naturally more rhythmically inclined or is there something else at play? And what about all the research on classical music and cognitive development - could this be related too? 
Also, can we really trust that these findings aren't influenced by our own expectations as parents or caregivers who're already priming our babies for musical appreciation?
this study is pretty cool, I guess 
i mean, who knew newborns could anticipate rhythms? it's like they're born with a natural sense of timing 
. but what's wild is that melody was off-limits for them... does that mean we only develop our love for music through learning and experience later on in life? 
I mean, can you imagine being able to anticipate rhythm in music as soon as you're born? It's like your brain is already wired up to love music, you know? 
And it makes total sense that babies would pick up on rhythms before melodies - our brains are super good at patterns, right? 
Plus, think about how cool it must be for parents to play music to their babies in the womb - they'd have been rocking out to the same tunes as their little one from day one! 
They're trying to shape our minds from birth with all that Bach and Mozart stuff 
And now they're saying it's just a natural thing? Give me a break! 
This research is like, totally fishy, man... if babies can anticipate rhythm in music just because of their environment, then why are we still listening to the same old tunes 30 years later? 