Katharina Buczek
Every parent knows about the numerous changes that occur once children reach teenhood all too well.
Growing pains, high-charged emotions, and an increased interest in socializing outside the family are pillars of puberty.
But, a new study conducted by Stanford University suggests that yet another change occurs at the age of thirteen.
As infants, toddlers, and young adolescents, children are drawn to their mother’s voice. It is an instinctual and grounding element of existence.
Then, as you get older, the attraction to your mother’s voice begins to diminish, according to the research study.
Stanford scientists studied the brains of children to test their hypothesis that teenagers exhibit more robust responses to voices that are not their mothers.
They first analyzed young children and found that the younger age brackets not only identified their mother’s voice perfectly, but the specific voice actually triggered numerous brain processing areas.
To compare this to teenagers, the team created audio recordings of “volunteer mothers” speaking about random topics.
Next, the teenagers underwent fMRI scans while listening to the audio recordings. The scan was meant to illuminate what sections of the brain were stimulated by different voices.
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