Infant Brain Structure Predicts Language Skills at One Year of Age

Using a brain-imaging technique that examines the entire infant brain, researchers have found that the anatomy of certain brain areas — the hippocampus and cerebellum — can predict children’s language abilities at one year of age. The University of Washington study is the first to associate these brain structures with future language skills. The results appear in the January issue of the journal Brain and Language.

“The brain of the baby holds an infinite number of secrets just waiting to be uncovered, and these discoveries will show us why infants learn languages like sponges, far surpassing our skills as adults,” says co-author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. For more information, click here to read the full release.