The moment when the fetus sends its first nerve signals
- Chinese researchers say nerve impulses begin around the 24th week in utero as some genes are switched on
- Study could point a way to treat some brain diseases and fills in details about fetal development, scientists say
The researchers said the study presented unprecedented details about fetal brain development but cautioned that the neural signals should not be defined as “consciousness”.
Some parents believe that “fetal education” can make their children smarter by reading classical literature, playing music or simply speaking to the unborn child. A few studies suggested that the fetus could even tell the difference between Queen and Adele.
But when the fetus had the ability to respond to these attempts remained unclear, and some scientists questioned if these reactions meant anything. “The fetus is almost continuously asleep and unconscious,” said Swedish paediatrician Hugo Lagercrantz in a paper published in the journal paediatric Research in 2009.
Studying the brain development of a living fetus could help answer this question but this has been a challenge because it is impossible to access their brain directly.
With the approval of a hospital ethics committee in Beijing, a group of researchers led by Professor Wang Xiaoqun at the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied intact brains from aborted embryos and fetuses donated by their parents for scientific research.