Subject: Re: A question about pre-natal hearing From: "Patel, Aniruddh D." <a.patel@xxxxxxxx> Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2015 15:34:25 +0000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>--_000_E06FF38A806E884E9F935E87BFE5694C7256F92BSSVMEXDAG01MB01_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Dear List, Regarding Brian and Jan's interesting exchange on prenatal hearing, I think= one informative fact about prenatal hearing is that a newborn can recogniz= e a tune heard prenatally. I describe one of these studies in Music, Langu= age, and the Brain (p. 382-383): "Hepper (1991) had one group of mothers listen to a particular tune once or twice a day throughout their pregnancy, whereas another group of mothers did not listen to this tune. Newborns from the prior group recogniz= ed the tune, as indicated by changes in heart rate, movement, and alertness up= on hearing the tune after birth (the control group showed no such changes). To ascertain if the newborns were responding on the basis of the specific tune (or if prior exposure to music simply made them more responsive to music in general), Hepper conducted another study in which mothers listened to the same tune during pregnancy, but babies were tested with a different tune or= a backward version of the original tune. In this case, the newborns did not s= how any sign of recognition. Hepper went on to show that selective response to = the familiar tune could be observed even before birth (via ultrasound monitorin= g of fetal movement), at 36-37 weeks of gestational age. Hepper did a final s= tudy with 29- 30-week-old fetuses, showing that there was no evidence of tune re= cognition at this age." Hepper, P. G. (1991). An examination of fetal learning before and after bir= th. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 12:95-107. Regards, Ani Patel Aniruddh D. Patel Associate Professor Dept. of Psychology Tufts University 490 Boston Ave. Medford, MA 02155 a.patel@xxxxxxxx http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology/People/patel/ From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception [mailto:AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx= ILL.CA] On Behalf Of Monson, Brian Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2015 10:31 AM To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx Subject: Re: A question about pre-natal hearing Dear List, In case it might be useful to anyone else, please see my response to Jan's = question below. Best, Brian Brian B. Monson, PhD Research Fellow | Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital | Harvard Medical School Phone: +617 525 4131 | Email: bmonson@xxxxxxxx<mailto:vsaka= lidis@xxxxxxxx> On Mar 2, 2015, at 5:32 PM, Brian Monson <BMONSON@xxxxxxxx<= mailto:BMONSON@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: Dear Jan, Fetal hearing is certainly a complicated issue. I've seen several individu= als at conferences refer to the intrauterine environment as simply a 500-Hz= low-pass filter, which doesn't appear to be entirely accurate. Another po= int sometimes brought up is that, to a first approximation, intrauterine he= aring should mimic underwater hearing, which stimulates the inner ear prima= rily via bone conduction (Hollien, 1973, JASA, 53:1288-1295). However, I t= hink we need to be cautious about bone conduction for children and adults v= s. a fetus whose bones (including the ossicles) aren't completely ossified.= On the other hand, inner ear stimulation could occur entirely via fluid r= ather than bone (Perez et al, 2011, Hearing Research, 280:82-85). To your specific question, the middle ear of the fetus is fluid filled, whi= ch will likely dampen whatever mechanical forces the non-ossified ossicles = might provide. Further complicating the process, however, the (incompressi= ble) fluid in the middle ear would also provide another direct acoustic pat= hway from the tympanic membrane to both the oval window and round window. = Theoretically this pathway is also present via the airspace when the middle= ear is filled with air, but I suppose it typically gets ignored because th= e ossicles would dominate oval window actuation. That might not be true of = cartilaginous ossicles in a fluid-filled middle ear space. In any event, fetuses have been reported to develop sensitivity to low freq= uencies first, followed by high frequencies (Hepper & Shahidullah, 1994, "T= he development of fetal hearing"), so the question of what the cochlea pick= s up is highly dependent on the gestation time point of interest. Gerhardt= & Abrams have a review on fetal hearing that you might already have, but I= 'm attaching just in case. I hope this is helpful. I'd be interested to hear any input you might get = from others. Best, Brian Brian B. Monson, PhD Research Fellow | Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital | Harvard Medical School Phone: +617 525 4131 | Email: bmonson@xxxxxxxx<mailto:vsaka= lidis@xxxxxxxx> On Mar 1, 2015, at 2:22 PM, Jan Schnupp <jan.schnupp@xxxxxxxx<mailto:j= an.schnupp@xxxxxxxx>> wrote: Dear List, I was looking around for literature describing the intra-uterine sound envi= ronment of unborn fetuses and came across this paper http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/abstract/1992/08000/sound_levels_in_th= e_human_uterus.6.aspx which suggests that sound in the uterus - if measured with a hydrophone - i= s essentially unattenuated relative to the source of air born sound and sho= ws apparently no low-passing. That would suggest that sound in utero is ess= entially crystal clear and not "muffled" as one might perhaps intuitively s= uspect. However, as I was pondering this I wondered: what about the middle = ear of unborn children? Are they filled with (amniotic?) fluid? Or with air= ? And does it matter? How good could we expect the cochlea in the unborn to= be at picking up sound from the amniotic fluid, and does that depend on wh= ether the middle ear is fluid or air filled? Best wishes, Jan -- Prof Jan Schnupp University of Oxford Dept. of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics Sherrington Building - Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PT - UK +44-1865-282012 http://jan.schnupp.net<http://jan.schnupp.net/> <Gerhardt_2000_Fetal Exposures to Sound and Vibroacoustic Stimulation.pdf> The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it i= s addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-ma= il contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLi= ne at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in e= rror but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and pro= perly dispose of the e-mail. --_000_E06FF38A806E884E9F935E87BFE5694C7256F92BSSVMEXDAG01MB01_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-micr= osoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns:m=3D"http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns=3D"http:= //www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"= > <meta name=3D"Generator" content=3D"Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"> <style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @xxxxxxxx {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} @xxxxxxxx {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} @xxxxxxxx {font-family:Sabon-Roman; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;} @xxxxxxxx {font-family:Sabon-Italic; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; text-decoration:underline;} p {mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} span.xapple-style-span {mso-style-name:x_apple-style-span;} span.EmailStyle20 {mso-style-type:personal-reply; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; color:#1F497D;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; font-size:10.0pt;} @xxxxxxxx WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext=3D"edit" spidmax=3D"1026" /> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext=3D"edit"> <o:idmap v:ext=3D"edit" data=3D"1" /> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> </head> <body lang=3D"EN-US" link=3D"blue" vlink=3D"purple"> <div class=3D"WordSection1"> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Dear List,<o:p></o:p></sp= an></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Regarding Brian and Jan&#= 8217;s interesting exchange on prenatal hearing, I think one informative fa= ct about prenatal hearing is that a newborn can recognize a tune heard prenatally. I describe one of these studies in <i>Music, Langu= age, and the Brain</i> (p. 382-383):<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sa= bon-Roman","serif"">“Hepper (1991) had one group of mo= thers listen to a particular tune</span><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;fon= t-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">once or tw= ice a day throughout their pregnancy, whereas another group of<o:p></o:p></= span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">mothers di= d not listen to this tune. Newborns from the prior group recognized<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">the tune, = as indicated by changes in heart rate, movement, and alertness upon<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">hearing th= e tune after birth (the control group showed no such changes). To<o:p></o:p= ></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">ascertain = if the newborns were responding on the basis of the specific tune<o:p></o:p= ></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">(or if pri= or exposure to music simply made them more responsive to music in<o:p></o:p= ></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">general), = Hepper conducted another study in which mothers listened to the<o:p></o:p><= /span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">same tune = during pregnancy, but babies were tested with a different tune or a<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">backward v= ersion of the original tune. In this case, the newborns did not show<o:p></= o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">any sign o= f recognition. Hepper went on to show that selective response to the<o:p></= o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">familiar t= une could be observed even </span><i><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Italic&qu= ot;,"serif"">before birth </span></i><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman&qu= ot;,"serif"">(via ultrasound monitoring<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">of fetal m= ovement), at 36–37 weeks of gestational age. Hepper did a final study= <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:10.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">with 29- 3= 0-week-old fetuses, showing that there was no evidence of tune recognition<= o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sa= bon-Roman","serif"">at this age.”<o:p></o:p></span></p= > <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sa= bon-Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"text-autospace:none"><span style=3D"font-si= ze:9.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman","serif"">Hepper, P. = G. (1991). An examination of fetal learning before and after birth. </span><i><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Italic&quo= t;,"serif"">The Irish<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><i><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"= Sabon-Italic","serif"">Journal of Psychology, </span></i><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Sabon-Roman&quo= t;,"serif"">12:95–107.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Sab= on-Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span= ></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Ani Patel<o:p></o:p></spa= n></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Aniruddh D. Patel<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Associate Professor<o:p><= /o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Dept. of Psychology<br> Tufts University<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">490 Boston Ave.<o:p></o:p= ></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Medford, MA 02155<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">a.patel@xxxxxxxx<o:p></o= :p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><a href=3D"http://ase.tuf= ts.edu/psychology/People/patel/"><span style=3D"color:blue">http://ase.tuft= s.edu/psychology/People/patel/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Sa= bon-Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span><= /p> <div> <div style=3D"border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in = 0in 0in"> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><b><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"= ;Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style=3D"font-s= ize:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> AUDITORY= - Research in Auditory Perception [mailto:AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx <b>On Behalf Of </b>Monson, Brian<br> <b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, March 03, 2015 10:31 AM<br> <b>To:</b> AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx<br> <b>Subject:</b> Re: A question about pre-natal hearing<o:p></o:p></span></p= > </div> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Dear List, <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">In case it might be useful to anyone else, please se= e my response to Jan's question below.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Best,<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Brian<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","= ;sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Brian B. Monson, PhD</spa= n><span style=3D"color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p= > </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Research = Fellow | Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine</span><span style=3D= "font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p><= /o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Brigham and Women's Hospit= al <span style=3D"background:white">| Harvard Medical School</span></s= pan><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";c= olor:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Phone: &#= 43;617 525 4131 | Email: </span><u><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font= -family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:blue;background:wh= ite"><a href=3D"mailto:vsakalidis@xxxxxxxx">bmonson@xxxxxxxx= d.edu</a></span></u><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","sa= ns-serif";color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p= > </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On Mar 2, 2015, at 5:32 PM, Brian Monson <<a href= =3D"mailto:BMONSON@xxxxxxxx">BMONSON@xxxxxxxx= du</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><br> <br> <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Dear Jan, <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Fetal hearing is certainly a complicated issue. &nbs= p;I've seen several individuals at conferences refer to the intrauterine en= vironment as simply a 500-Hz low-pass filter, which doesn't appear to be en= tirely accurate. Another point sometimes brought up is that, to a first approximation, intrauterine hearing should = mimic underwater hearing, which stimulates the inner ear primarily via bone= conduction (Hollien, 1973, JASA, 53:1288-1295). However, I think we = need to be cautious about bone conduction for children and adults vs. a fetus whose bones (including the ossicles) a= ren't completely ossified. On the other hand, inner ear stimulation c= ould occur entirely via fluid rather than bone (Perez et al, 2011, Hearing = Research, 280:82-85).<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">To your specific question, the middle ear of the fet= us is fluid filled, which will likely dampen whatever mechanical forces the= non-ossified ossicles might provide. Further complicating the proces= s, however, the (incompressible) fluid in the middle ear would also provide another direct acoustic pathway from = the tympanic membrane to both the oval window and round window. Theor= etically this pathway is also present via the airspace when the middle ear = is filled with air, but I suppose it typically gets ignored because the ossicles would dominate oval window act= uation. That might not be true of cartilaginous ossicles in a fluid-filled = middle ear space.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">In any event, fetuses have been reported to develop = sensitivity to low frequencies first, followed by high frequencies (Hepper = & Shahidullah, 1994, "The development of fetal hearing"), so = the question of what the cochlea picks up is highly dependent on the gestation time point of interest. Gerhardt & Ab= rams have a review on fetal hearing that you might already have, but I'm at= taching just in case.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">I hope this is helpful. I'd be interested to h= ear any input you might get from others.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Best,<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Brian<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","= ;sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Brian B. Monson, PhD</spa= n><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Research = Fellow | Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine</span><span style=3D= "font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span>= </p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Brigham and Women's Hospit= al <span style=3D"background:white">| Harvard Medical School</span></s= pan><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">= <o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cal= ibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D;background:white">Phone: &#= 43;617 525 4131 | Email: </span><u><span style=3D"font-size:9.0pt;font= -family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:blue;background:wh= ite"><a href=3D"mailto:vsakalidis@xxxxxxxx">bmonson@xxxxxxxx= d.edu</a></span></u><span style=3D"font-family:"Calibri","sa= ns-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On Mar 1, 2015, at 2:22 PM, Jan Schnupp <<a href= =3D"mailto:jan.schnupp@xxxxxxxx">jan.schnupp@xxxxxxxx</a>> wro= te:<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><br> <br> <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Dear List, <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">I was looking around for literature describing the i= ntra-uterine sound environment of unborn fetuses and came across this paper= <o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><a href=3D"http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/abst= ract/1992/08000/sound_levels_in_the_human_uterus.6.aspx">http://journals.lw= w.com/greenjournal/abstract/1992/08000/sound_levels_in_the_human_uterus.6.a= spx</a><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">which suggests that sound in the uterus - if measure= d with a hydrophone - is essentially unattenuated relative to the source of= air born sound and shows apparently no low-passing. That would suggest tha= t sound in utero is essentially crystal clear and not "muffled" as one might perhaps intuitively suspect= . However, as I was pondering this I wondered: what about the middle ear of= unborn children? Are they filled with (amniotic?) fluid? Or with air? And = does it matter? How good could we expect the cochlea in the unborn to be at picking up sound from the amniotic fluid, a= nd does that depend on whether the middle ear is fluid or air filled?<o:p><= /o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Best wishes,<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Jan<o:p></o:p></p> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> <br clear=3D"all"> <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">-- <o:p></o:p></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Prof Jan Schnupp<br> University of Oxford<br> Dept. of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics<br> Sherrington Building - Parks Road<br> Oxford OX1 3PT - UK<br> +44-1865-282012<br> <a href=3D"http://jan.schnupp.net/" target=3D"_blank">http://jan.schnupp.ne= t</a><o:p></o:p></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><Gerhardt_2000_Fetal Exposures to Sound and Vibro= acoustic Stimulation.pdf><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p>The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom i= t is<br> addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-ma= il<br> contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLi= ne at<br> <a href=3D"http://www.partners.org/complianceline">http://www.partners.org/= complianceline</a> . If the e-mail was sent to you in error<br> but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and pro= perly<br> dispose of the e-mail.<o:p></o:p></p> </div> </body> </html> --_000_E06FF38A806E884E9F935E87BFE5694C7256F92BSSVMEXDAG01MB01_--