Infants are able to use spatial cues to hear voices amid noise, according to a study published on Jul. 13 by researchers at the University of Washington.
The research team, led by Farhin Ahmed and Qianxun Zheng, recorded the brain activity of 53 infants and 20 adults as they listened to speakers in various settings. One environment included only a speaker, another had noise coming from the same location as the speaker, and a third featured noise from a different location than the speaker.
Both infants and adults used sound location information to track speakers. However, their brain responses differed: adults showed widespread activation across the cortex, while infants exhibited more confined cortical activity.
Ahmed said, "Despite their immature brains, infants are still able to make use of spatial cues early in life to help them hear the relevant voice in a noisy environment."
The findings suggest that this ability emerges early in human development and may be evolutionarily conserved across species.
