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A new study from the University of British Columbia is among the first researchers to explore the impacts of maternal mental health and antidepressant exposure on the mechanics of early language acquisition.
Researchers believe that the preliminary findings from the study provide important new insights into early childhood development and mother’s mental health and will inform new approaches to infant language acquisition.
Previous research by UBC Psychology Prof. Janet Werker has found that during the first months of life, babies rapidly attune to the language sounds they hear and the sights they see (movements in the face that accompany talking) of their native languages. After this foundational period of language recognition, babies begin focusing on acquiring their native tongues and effectively ignore other languages.
However, in findings from two studies, Werker reports that this key developmental period - which typically ends between the ages of eight and nine months - can change.
In one study, Werker finds the period lasts longer for babies in bilingual households than in monolingual babies, particularly for the face recognition aspects of speech.
In another study, Werker and collaborators at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children’s Hospital and Harvard University find that maternal depression and its treatment with common antidepressant medication - serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SRIs - can also affect the timing of speech perception development in babies.
The team’s preliminary findings suggest that SRI treatment may accelerate babies’ ability to attune to the sounds and sights of the native language, while maternal depression untreated by SRIs may prolong the period of tuning.
- At this point, we do not know if accelerating or delaying the achievement of these milestones of early infancy has any consequences on later language acquisition, However, these preliminary findings highlight the importance of environmental factors on infant development and put us in a better position to support not only optimal language development in children but also maternal well-being, says Werker.
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