An acoustic gap between the NICU and womb: A potential risk for compromised neuroplasticity of the auditory system in preterm infants

N/ACitations
Citations of this article
183Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

The intrauterine environment allows the fetus to begin hearing low-frequency sounds in a protected fashion, ensuring initial optimal development of the peripheral and central auditory system. However, the auditory nursery provided by the womb vanishes once the preterm newborn enters the high-frequency (HF) noisy environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The present article draws a concerning line between auditory system development and HF noise in the NICU, which we argue is not necessarily conducive to fostering this development. Overexposure to HF noise during critical periods disrupts the functional organization of auditory cortical circuits. As a result, we theorize that the ability to tune out noise and extract acoustic information in a noisy environment may be impaired, leading to increased risks for a variety of auditory, language, and attention disorders. Additionally, HF noise in the NICU often masks human speech sounds, further limiting quality exposure to linguistic stimuli. Understanding the impact of the sound environment on the developing auditory system is an important first step in meeting the developmental demands of preterm newborns undergoing intensive care.

Figures

  • Table 1 | An acoustic gap between the NICU and the womb environments.
  • FIGURE 1 | An illustration of the cochlea and its tonotopic development across the frequency spectrum. High-frequency sounds maximally stimulate the base of the cochlea, whereas low-frequency sounds maximally stimulate the apex. Whereas the fetus is primarily exposed to sound frequencies below 500 Hz (green shade), preterm newborns are exposed to the entire frequency spectrum (green, orange, and red shades), coming from various electronic sounds in the NICU environment.

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Lahav, A., & Skoe, E. (2014). An acoustic gap between the NICU and womb: A potential risk for compromised neuroplasticity of the auditory system in preterm infants. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8(DEC). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2014.00381

Readers over time

‘15‘16‘17‘18‘19‘20‘21‘22‘23‘24‘2509182736

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 64

64%

Researcher 24

24%

Professor / Associate Prof. 10

10%

Lecturer / Post doc 2

2%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Medicine and Dentistry 38

41%

Psychology 26

28%

Nursing and Health Professions 18

20%

Neuroscience 10

11%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Social Media
Shares, Likes & Comments: 2

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free
0