Babies Develop Memories While In The Womb

Source: Ananova (Dutch Press)

Date: September 29, 2000

The Hague, Netherlands -- A team of scientists in Holland have found that babies develop short and long-term memories while still in the womb. The Dutch research team studied 25 unborn children aged between 37 and 40 weeks, and carried out tests using vibroacoustic stimuli. Their results are published in the latest issue of the medical journal, The Lancet. Each baby was subjected to acoustic stimulation through the mother's abdomen for one second, every 30 seconds. The response to the stimulation was then monitored through an ultrasound scanner. Movement of the body or legs within one second of stimulation was put down as a positive response. Lack of response to four consecutive stimuli was put down to the baby "habituating" or remembering the stimuli. The tests were repeated after 10 minutes, and then after 24 hours. Researchers found that the babies habituated more rapidly after 10 minutes compared with the initial test, and memory of the test was still evident 24 hours later. Cathelijne van Heteren, who carried out the study at the University Hospital in Maastricht, said: "From our study we can conclude that fetuses have a short-term memory of at least ten minutes and a long-term memory of at least 24 hours. ``Our aim was to test fetal learning and memory,'' van Heteren said in a study in The Lancet medical journal. "Fetuses are able to memorise the stimuli in the womb, although they may need more than one stimulus to establish recognition."