The auditory environment drives superior temporal sulcus depth in the neonatal period

Premature birth impacts the development of superior temporal brain regions, including the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a key cortical area for language, voice recognition, and music processing. Using three distinct newborn imaging datasets, we examined the impact of premature birth on STS morphology at term-equivalent age. In the large cohort of the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), we observed a linear relationship between gestational age at birth and STS depth, with earlier birth associated with a shallower STS. We hypothesized that this effect may have resulted from reduced structured auditory stimulation during a critical period of perisylvian network development. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed two additional published cohorts in which preterm neonates were exposed to contrasting auditory environments: either enhanced with structured music or minimized in quiet private rooms. We found that music exposure was associated with deeper STS, while a quieter environment was linked to further STS shallowing. Although the cross-sectional design limits causal inference, our findings suggest that early auditory experience-both in and ex utero-may influence the structural development of temporal brain regions. These results highlight the need to deepen our understanding of environmental influences in order to optimize postnatal settings that support the harmonious development of auditory and language networks.

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Publication Details

Journal
Brain Structure and Function
Published
2025-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-025-03034-z
Primary Topic
Neuroscience and Music Perception
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The auditory environment drives superior temporal sulcus depth in the neonatal period

Ghislaine Dehaene‐Lambertz, Cynthia Rogers, Rachel E. Lean, F. Leroy et al.
Brain Structure and Function
Neuroscience and Music Perception
article

The auditory environment drives superior temporal sulcus depth in the neonatal period

Ghislaine Dehaene‐Lambertz, Cynthia Rogers, Rachel E. Lean, F. Leroy, Laura Gui, Christopher D. Smyser, Joana Sa de Almeida, Lucas Benjamin, Terrie E. Inder, Maxime Bacquet, Lara Lordier, Petra S. Hüppi, Charlotte Mancuso
article en

Abstract

Premature birth impacts the development of superior temporal brain regions, including the superior temporal sulcus (STS), a key cortical area for language, voice recognition, and music processing. Using three distinct newborn imaging datasets, we examined the impact of premature birth on STS morphology at term-equivalent age. In the large cohort of the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), we observed a linear relationship between gestational age at birth and STS depth, with earlier birth associated with a shallower STS. We hypothesized that this effect may have resulted from reduced structured auditory stimulation during a critical period of perisylvian network development. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed two additional published cohorts in which preterm neonates were exposed to contrasting auditory environments: either enhanced with structured music or minimized in quiet private rooms. We found that music exposure was associated with deeper STS, while a quieter environment was linked to further STS shallowing. Although the cross-sectional design limits causal inference, our findings suggest that early auditory experience-both in and ex utero-may influence the structural development of temporal brain regions. These results highlight the need to deepen our understanding of environmental influences in order to optimize postnatal settings that support the harmonious development of auditory and language networks.

Brain Structure and FunctionVol. 230(9)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR), University of Geneva (CH), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Inserm (FR), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), University Hospital of Geneva (CH), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab (FR)
National Science Foundation, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Institutes of Health, H2020 European Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Neuroscience and Music Perception
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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