The speed of sound in the infant’s body is considered an important factor in how they perceive motor action. This may raise new questions about how a 2-year-old’s brain feels after listening to speech using their right arm.
In a new study by a University of Toronto Scarborough researcher and a team led by Dr. Michael Dable, U of T Scarborough Research Chair in the Development of Language, Reasoning and Cognition, The study used pre-clinical studies involving human infants to determine how the right-handed and left-handed hand configurations of the right and left thumbs response differently to sounds.
We decided to measure babies’ perception of speed after hearing speech, as this area of brain development was previously thought to be very similar between newborns and non-human primates.”
Dr. Michael Dable, U of T Scarborough Research Chair in the Development of Language, Reasoning and Cognition.