Researchers at London University have found that an infant of three to seven years old has the capability of hearing and responding to sad voices. According to the researchers, the temporal cortex helps an infant to understand the difference between a normal voice and sad voice.

They further said that this particular area of brain helps one to learn language and ways of social interaction. For the study, the researchers scanned the brains of sleeping babies by using functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI).

After scanning their brains, the researchers gave CDs to the parents of infants and asked them to play it near the baby and to observe their child’s reaction. During this experiment, it was found that babies identified the sad voices among numerous other voices by reacting to it.

The experiment also showed that activities of a baby like, sneezing, yawning, lapping water reminiscent of bath time and the squeaking of toys activates a part of the brain which helps in processing speech.

Declan Murphy, a researcher of the study, said that the result of the study can prove helpful in detecting autism in infants at an early state. There have been previous studies which have highlighted that babies like to hear their mother’s voice and they cry in regional accent. This is for the first time when a study has shown that baby can differentiate between sad and natural voice.