Music to support babies in neonatal intensive care units
Certain melodies promote brain development in premature infants. For several years, a team of scientists funded by the SNSF observed this phenomenon. They now know more precisely which areas of the brain react over time.
Premature infants are more likely to suffer from attention and emotional regulation disorders. For over a decade, a team funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been investigating an unexpected solution to prevent these problems: music. Scientists at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) exposed several cohorts of infants born at an average of 29 weeks to music. Several of their publications, which have been widely covered in the media, underline the potential of this approach. The team’s latest study demonstrates that music boosts cerebral connectivity in the areas of the brain usually affected in preterm infants.
The last cohort in the programme comprised 60 premature infants, 32 of whom were exposed to music, while the remaining 28 acted as a control group. MRI scans showed improvements from the age of 33 weeks. The scientists observed improved development of connections between specific areas, especially within the “salience” neural network that plays a key role in identifying sounds and other stimuli and recognising their importance or socio-emotional relevance. “Children born preterm almost always have reduced connectivity in this network, and this often persists into adulthood,” explained Petra Hüppi, head of the research programme.
Using the music of Andreas Vollenweider
Connections between the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex – both specific areas of the brain – are involved in determining salience. This faculty, which is less developed in preterm infants, enables us to associate our mother's voice with a sense of wellbeing or the shrill sound of an alarm with fear, for example. Given this, the positive impact of music on the development of this brain circuit is unsurprising.
However, playing Mozart in the ward isn’t enough. “An intensive care unit is full of sounds and alarms, so it's not a matter of adding noise to noise,” said Hüppi. The scientists, therefore, used eight-minute samples of music played through headphones to support each newborn individually during transitions between sleep and wakefulness. Zurich-based composer Andreas Vollenweider composed custom pieces to punctuate the infants’ daily rhythm with soothing intervals – melodies that the babies can learn to recognise.
First cohort now eight years old
While MRI scans clearly show the effects of musical therapy, it is still too early to determine whether the approach offers long-term benefits. However, the scientists may soon know more from the first cohort of patients born in 2016. The approximately 20 subjects, now eight years old, are old enough for follow-up MRI scans and to undergo cognitive and behavioural tests. This work is currently underway, and the results will need to be confirmed in larger cohorts over the coming years. “It’s a lengthy process,” explained Hüppi, highlighting both the time required and the technical difficulties in performing studies on patients who are so young.
If definite benefits are confirmed, music could be integrated into neonatal intensive care units worldwide. Hüppi is optimistic about future findings and is working on a project towards this end. In collaboration with the EPFL laboratories in Lausanne, she aims to automate exposure to music for newborns using artificial intelligence (AI). “It’s not practical to have someone in the unit playing music at the right time for each preterm infant,” she said. AI technology could learn to identify the moments that each infant is awake, falling asleep and waking up by integrating heart rate changes, facial and movement features. Ultimately, all premature infants could benefit from the advantages of music.