image: Maternal sensory signals might influence cognitive development. view more
Credit: Image is courtesy of Daniel A. Anderson / UC Irvine University Communication
In a study of 128 women and their offspring, researchers report a correlation between offspring cognitive function and the predictability of maternal sensory signals, including visual and auditory cues, such that exposure to unpredictable sensory signals at 1 year of age was associated with poor performance in cognitive development and memory assessments at 2 and 6.5 years of age, respectively; moreover, unpredictable maternal signals were associated with offspring memory problems in an animal model, suggesting that predictability of maternal signals might influence cognitive development in children.
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Article #17-03444: "Exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals influences cognitive development across species," by Elysia Poggi Davis et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elysia Poggi Davis, University of Denver, CO; tel: 303-871-3790; e-mail: <elysia.davis@du.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences