The more you talk to babies in the first years of life, the more you will influence the formation of their brain structure for the better, researchers say.
Studies have previously suggested that talking to babies can improve their language processing skills as well as enrich their vocabulary. Now, researchers say there is a link between adult speech and the concentration of a substance in the brain – known as myelin – that surrounds nerves and makes signals more efficient.
This substance is important for keeping the brain's nerves functioning, sending and receiving signals from all parts of the body. Without nerve cells, no part of the body would function.
"Talk to the children. It is very important," said the main author of the study, Prof. John Spencer. "Literally, speech shapes the structure of the brain."
After scanning the children's brains, the researchers noticed greater amounts of the substance myelin in children whose parents had talked more.
