title: Short-term memory functions of the human fetus recorded with magnetoencephalography.
abstract: Studies in fetuses and in prematurely born infants show that auditory discriminative skills are present prior to birth. The magnetic fields generated by the fetal brain activity pass the maternal tissues and, despite their weakness, can be detected externally using MEG. Recent studies on the auditory evoked magnetic responses show that the fetal brain responds to sound onset. In contrast, higher-level auditory skills, such as those involving discriminative and memory functions, were not so far studied in fetuses with MEG. Here we show that fetal responses related to discriminating sounds can be recorded, implicating that the auditory change-detection system is functional. These results open new views to developmental neuroscience by enabling one to determine the sensory capabilities as well as the extent and accuracy of the short-term memory system of the fetus, and, further, to follow the development of these crucial processes.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, and Helsinki Brain Research Centre, PO Box 9, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. minna.huotilainen@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huotilainen
authors.forename: Anu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hotakainen
authors.forename: Lauri
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parkkonen
authors.forename: Samu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taulu
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simola
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nenonen
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Näätänen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011930:Reaction Time