The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity
Due to technological advancements in functional brain imaging, foetal brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli is a growing area of research despite being relatively small with much variation between research laboratories. A number of inconsistencies between studies are, nonetheless, present i...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2015-06-01
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| Series: | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929315000420 |
| _version_ | 1818129446689832960 |
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| author | Kirsty Dunn Nadja Reissland Vincent M. Reid |
| author_facet | Kirsty Dunn Nadja Reissland Vincent M. Reid |
| author_sort | Kirsty Dunn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to technological advancements in functional brain imaging, foetal brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli is a growing area of research despite being relatively small with much variation between research laboratories. A number of inconsistencies between studies are, nonetheless, present in the literature. This article aims to explore the potential contribution of methodological factors to variation in reports of foetal neural responses to external stimuli. Some of the variation in reports can be explained by methodological differences in aspects of study design, such as brightness and wavelength of light source. In contrast to visual foetal processing, auditory foetal processing has been more frequently investigated and findings are more consistent between different studies. This is an early preview of an emerging field with many articles reporting small sample sizes with techniques that are yet to be replicated. We suggest areas for improvement for the field as a whole, such as the standardisation of stimulus delivery and a more detailed reporting of methods and results. This will improve our understanding of foetal functional response to light and sound. We suggest that enhanced technology will allow for a more reliable description of the developmental trajectory of foetal processing of light stimuli. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:49:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ff0532789744e9c8985f322db7bcfdf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1878-9293 1878-9307 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:49:17Z |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ff0532789744e9c8985f322db7bcfdf2022-12-22T01:15:23ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92931878-93072015-06-0113C435210.1016/j.dcn.2015.04.002The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacityKirsty Dunn0Nadja Reissland1Vincent M. Reid2Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, UKDepartment of Psychology, Durham University, UKDepartment of Psychology, Lancaster University, UKDue to technological advancements in functional brain imaging, foetal brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli is a growing area of research despite being relatively small with much variation between research laboratories. A number of inconsistencies between studies are, nonetheless, present in the literature. This article aims to explore the potential contribution of methodological factors to variation in reports of foetal neural responses to external stimuli. Some of the variation in reports can be explained by methodological differences in aspects of study design, such as brightness and wavelength of light source. In contrast to visual foetal processing, auditory foetal processing has been more frequently investigated and findings are more consistent between different studies. This is an early preview of an emerging field with many articles reporting small sample sizes with techniques that are yet to be replicated. We suggest areas for improvement for the field as a whole, such as the standardisation of stimulus delivery and a more detailed reporting of methods and results. This will improve our understanding of foetal functional response to light and sound. We suggest that enhanced technology will allow for a more reliable description of the developmental trajectory of foetal processing of light stimuli.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929315000420FoetusVisual perceptionAuditory perceptionfMRIfMEG |
| spellingShingle | Kirsty Dunn Nadja Reissland Vincent M. Reid The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Foetus Visual perception Auditory perception fMRI fMEG |
| title | The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| title_full | The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| title_fullStr | The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| title_full_unstemmed | The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| title_short | The functional foetal brain: A systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| title_sort | functional foetal brain a systematic preview of methodological factors in reporting foetal visual and auditory capacity |
| topic | Foetus Visual perception Auditory perception fMRI fMEG |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929315000420 |
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