Evidence of consciousness in newborns has implications for their care

Babies cannot tell us what they are experiencing, so it is hard to know what they are conscious of. But new research suggesting they perceive the world consciously could change how we care for them, says Claudia Passos-Ferreira

Do newborn babies consciously hear sounds and feel pain? In the past, infant boys undergoing circumcision were often not given anaesthetic, partly because it was thought that their brains were immature and they couldn’t consciously feel pain. Even today, there remains much uncertainty. Babies cannot tell us what they are experiencing, so it is hard to know what they are conscious of.

Recently, neuroscientists have uncovered evidence suggesting newborn infants perceive the world consciously. When newborns encounter certain surprising stimuli, their brain reacts strikingly similarly to the way conscious adult brains react.

One method to investigate uses the oddball paradigm.…