With the introduction of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) into the experimental
setting, developmental scientists have, for the first time, the capacity to investigate the …

Measuring brain activity in developmental populations remains a major challenge despite
great technological advances. Among the numerous available methods, functional near …

A landmark account of the neurobiological basis of language—arguing that species-specific
brain differences may be at the root of the human capacity for language. Language makes …

Brain development is largely shaped by early sensory experience. However, it is currently
unknown whether, how early, and to what extent the newborn's brain is shaped by exposure …

Extracting statistical regularities from the environment is a primary learning mechanism that
might support language acquisition. While it has been shown that infants are sensitive to …

Human neonates can discriminate phonemes, but the neural mechanism underlying this
ability is poorly understood. Here we show that the neonatal brain can learn to discriminate …

Evolutionary science has long viewed language as, basically, a fortunate accident—a
crossing of wires that happened to be extraordinarily useful, setting humans apart from other …

Over the past 20 years, the field of cognitive neuroscience has relied heavily on
hemodynamic measures of blood oxygenation in local regions of the brain to make …

Fetal hearing experiences shape the linguistic and musical preferences of neonates. From
the very first moment after birth, newborns prefer their native language, recognize their …

It is now clearly established that the environment and the sensory stimuli, particularly during
the perinatal period, have an impact on infant's development. During the last trimester of …