An Examination of Fetal Learning Before and After Birth

Abstract

A series of experiments is reported which examined the effects of prenatal learning in newborn infants and fetuses, in particular to see if the same measures can be used to assess learning before and after birth. Experiment 1 indicated that newborns who had been exposed to the theme tune of a popular TV programme during pregnancy exhibited changes in heartrate, number of movements and behavioural state 2–4 days after birth. These effects could be attributed to prenatal exposure alone and not to postnatal exposure or a genetic predisposition, and were specific to the tune learned. Evidence of learning had disappeared by 21 days of age. Experiment 2, using similar methodology, found fetuses exhibited changes in their movements when played a tune heard previously during pregnancy. As with Experiment 1 this was not the result of postnatal or genetic factors and was specific to the tune learned. Interestingly, fetuses increased their movements on hearing the tune whilst newboms decreased their movements. These results demonstrate that it is possible to assess fetal learning before and after birth, and the importance of this for documenting the ontogenesis of learning is discussed.