Abstract
Introduction: Newborn cries exhibit a richness of melody and rhythmicity, yet their rhythmic features have been less studied. Methods: In this study, we analyzed the amplitude modulation of 1,884 cries from 30 Chinese newborns. Results: The group-averaged amplitude modulation spectrum revealed an evident increase in energy between 0.5 and 8 Hz, peaking around 2 Hz. The peak frequency for an individual child averaged at around 3 Hz (SD = 1.3 Hz), with the majority lying below 5 Hz. Conclusion: This study is the first to demonstrate that newborn cries contain increased energy in slower rate amplitude modulation frequencies associated with prosodic feet and syllabic rhythms in speech, underscoring the important role of rhythmic information in early language acquisition.
Journal Section:
Research Article
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