Differential effects of prenatal music versus noise exposure on posnatal auditory cortex development: A systematic review

Loud noise exposure during critical gestation periods may increase implantation failure risks and placentation dysregulation or decrease uterine blood flow. Here, this study review published studies on associations between exposure to various prenatal sound types and reproductive outcomes in chicks and speculate the relevance of these studies to prenatal occupational and environmental noise exposure. PubMed Central, Cochrane, and our local library electronic databases were screened for papers published between 1979 and October 2014. Ten experimental studies on chronic prenatal auditory exposure of domestic chicks to music and various artificial and species-specific sounds were included. Prenatal exposure to auditory stimuli that are rhythmic, patterned, and in the frequency range of species-specific calls are beneficial to neural development, metabolism, and behavior, whereas simple sounds of the same intensity are beneficial or deleterious. Prenatal auditory exposure can substantially influence development and postnatal function of the auditory network and hippocampus. Few occupational and epidemiological studies have been conducted in humans; however, there is suggestive evidence for adverse outcomes, such as low birth weight and poor brain development of environmental noise.