In a new JNeurosci paper, Sarah Jessen and colleagues, from the University of Lübeck, explored how infants track their mothers’ voices compared to unfamiliar voices. The researchers also explored whether this vocal processing affects how babies process new faces.
Brain recordings of babies around 7 months old showed that they were far more attuned to the voices of their mothers than strangers. Additionally, neural tracking of unfamiliar faces was stronger when babies heard a stranger’s voice compared to their mother’s voice at the same time. Whether a face was happy or fearful did not affect these observations.
According to the researchers, these findings suggest that babies are quick to recognize their mothers’ voices. Furthermore, maternal speech may influence social processing in babies as they look at unfamiliar faces. Speaking on future experimental plans, says Jessen, “It’d be interesting to see how other sensory modalities like a mother’s smell or touch influence social processing in infants. How are babies combining sensory modalities to understand their social environment?”
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About JNeurosci
JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.
JNeurosci
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0646-25.2025
People
Neural Tracking of the Maternal Voice in the Infant Brain
10-Nov-2025
The authors declare no competing financial interests.