For several years, it has been proven that music can help in the development of babies and children, and in the case of babies born prematurely it is no exception. Now, a new study, found that Listening to music could help improve the brain development of premature babies.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study analyzed the effect that listening to music would have on brain development of those babies who were born prematurely, since they have a higher risk of presenting with a neurological disorder.
In Babies and more Premature babies need to feel touched for better brain developmentTo do this, researchers from the University of Geneva had a proposal that would help to better conduct their study: compose music specifically for premature babies, and analyze the effects and impact it would have on your brain development.
With the help of composer Andreas Vollenweider, musical stimuli related to the conditions of the babies were created. It was composed a musical structure based on pleasant stimuli that will accompany the babies during key moments of their day: upon waking, sleeping and while interacting with other adults when they were awake.
To choose the right instruments, the musician tested various options with the babies in the presence of a specialized nurse in the care of development. Some of them helped calm the babies immediately, and eventually, they managed to compose eight-minute melodies for each moment using instruments such as harps, Indian flutes and bells.
The results of the study show that the neural networks of premature babies who heard that music developed better than those babies that did not, particularly in networks that influence many sensory and cognitive functions.
Without music, premature babies in general, showed a poorer functional connection between various areas of the brain, compared to babies who came to term, confirming one of the negative effects of premature birth in babies' brains.
Usually in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) where premature babies usually stay, the sounds that are heard are environmental and not exactly pleasant or calming: as the flow and conversations of the people there, as well as the sounds of the devices that monitor them.
Providing a better environment for them while they are there through music, as well as other measures that have been taken in recent years, such as allowing parents to take them in arms to make skin with skin and stay longer with them, is something that can definitely help improve its development.
In Babies and more The benefits that premature babies get in the NICU when their parents get involved in caringTherefore, the researchers concluded that putting music on babies who were born prematurely helps their brain functions to be similar to those of babies who came to term, demonstrating that The effect of music is beneficial for the brain of these babies.
