In the Ted Talk “Inside the mind of a newborn baby”, psychologist and philosopher Claudia Passos Ferreira suggests that newborn babies may be more conscious of the world around them then previously thought. Ferreira explains how only a few decades ago, it was common belief that newborns were not conscious at all and could not feel pain. Babies were though to be “passive observers” of the chaotic, confusing world around them. Nowadays we know this isn’t fully true, and that babies can certainly feel pain, but then what does really goes on in the mind of a newborn?
Referencing key research done in the fields of neuroscience and psychology, Ferreira makes a compelling argument that newborns are consciously taking in the world around them, not just from birth but possibly even as early as the last few weeks of pregnancy! Brain scans show that babies respond to variations in patterns with activation of the same brain regions as adults. Newborns also seem to exhibit the same phenomena as adults when concentrating on one thing and taking time to shift attention to a new thing, babies just need a lot more time to do so!
All of the research discussed in the Ted Talk leads Ferreira to believe that babies possess a level of conscious thought and processing higher than what was previously imagined. We’ll never being able to ask a baby what they are thinking and have them respond, which is where the difficulty in researching this topic arises. Thankfully, today’s research, done by people like Claudia Passos Ferreira and many more, helps us get closer to a better understanding of our little ones!
To learn more, check out the full video!
Afrah Rafi
UConn KIDS Research Assistant