Haptic perception in the human foetus

Abstract

Recent years have seen increased exploration of the sensory development of the foetus [1]. All five senses, auditory, visual, cutaneous, olfactory and gustatory and been demonstrated to begin functioning in the prenatal period. It is the aim of this chapter to review the evidence of haptic perception in the human foetus. The development and function of other senses is briefly presented. However before reviewing this evidence it is necessary to pause to consider some general issues which must be borne in mind when evaluating the evidence presented by these studies.