究竟从多大开始，人类有能力从不同的语音语调中辨别不同情感？英国最新研究显示，3个月大的婴儿就能对含有不同情感的声音做出不同反应。
英国伦敦大学国王学院等机构的研究人员在美国新一期《当代生物学》杂志上报告说，当21名3个月至7个月大的婴儿睡着时，研究人员对他们播放了含有不同情感的声音，同时用磁共振成像技术探测他们大脑的反应。
试验中播放了笑声、哭声、咳嗽声以及玩具等物体发出的非人类的声音。结果显示，这些婴儿大脑中的颞皮质等部位会对这些声音做出不同反应，其反应模式与成人大脑对这些声音的反应模式类似。
领导研究的德克兰·墨菲教授说，这一结果显示，婴儿大脑很早就开始形成能分辨声音和情感的能力，这超出了过去的认识。由于话语交流在人际沟通中发挥着重要作用，通过分析婴儿大脑如何逐渐形成相关能力，有助于寻找治疗那些不善交流的自闭症患者的方法。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Current Biology DOI：10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.009
Early Specialization for Voice and Emotion Processing in the Infant Brain
Anna Blasi, Evelyne Mercure, Sarah Lloyd-Fox, Alex Thomson, Michael Brammer, Disa Sauter, Quinton Deeley, Gareth J. Barker, Ville Renvall, Sean Deoni, David Gasston, Steven C.R. Williams, Mark H. Johnson, Andrew Simmons, Declan G.M. Murphy
Human voices play a fundamental role in social communication, and areas of the adult “social brain” show specialization for processing voices and their emotional content (superior temporal sulcus, inferior prefrontal cortex, premotor cortical regions, amygdala, and insula) . However, it is unclear when this specialization develops. Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) studies suggest that the infant temporal cortex does not differentiate speech from music or backward speech , but a prior study with functional near-infrared spectroscopy revealed preferential activation for human voices in 7-month-olds, in a more posterior location of the temporal cortex than in adults . However, the brain networks involved in processing nonspeech human vocalizations in early development are still unknown. To address this issue, in the present fMRI study, 3- to 7-month-olds were presented with adult nonspeech vocalizations (emotionally neutral, emotionally positive, and emotionally negative) and nonvocal environmental sounds. Infants displayed significant differential activation in the anterior portion of the temporal cortex, similarly to adults . Moreover, sad vocalizations modulated the activity of brain regions involved in processing affective stimuli such as the orbitofrontal cortex and insula . These results suggest remarkably early functional specialization for processing human voice and negative emotions.
