A study that used functional MRI to analyze brain activity in 24 full-term newborns and 39 preterm infants recruited in neonatal intensive care units found that preterm infants included in a care plan incorporating music to support daily brain rhythms showed relatively enhanced brain circuit connectivity tied to the salience network, which is implicated in learning and is altered in neuropsychiatric disorders, suggesting that music might prevent brain connectivity deficits in preterm infants and improve future socio-cognitive function.
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Article #18-17536: "Music in premature infants enhances high-level cognitive brain networks," by Lara Lordier et al.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences