November 14, 2019
Most of us don’t know why we get the hiccups. They arrive as unexpected and annoying interludes in our otherwise orderly days—and we use a variety of questionable (and even silly) methods to get rid of them.
However, now scientists at University College London have discovered that hiccups might play a crucial role in our early development—by helping babies to regulate their breathing, MSN reports.
In a study led by Lorenzo Fabrizi, a specialist in Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the university, researchers who monitored 13 newborn babies found that hiccupping triggered a large wave of brain signals that could aid in their development.
Indeed, Fabrizi said in a statement, this brain activity might help babies “to learn how to monitor the breathing muscles,” eventually leading to an ability to control breathing voluntarily.
Since the babies involved in the study were pre-term and full-term, ranging from 30 to 42 weeks gestational age, the scientists believe this development could be typical of the final trimester of pregnancy.
According to the researchers, fetuses and newborn infants often hiccup, MSN reported.
The pre-term and full-term newborns involved in the study had electrodes placed on their scalps and sensors on their torsos to monitor for hiccups.
The researchers found that contractions in the babies’ diaphragms produced three brainwaves, and believe that through the third brainwave babies may be able to link the ‘hic’ sound of the hiccup to the physical contraction they feel.
Most of us don’t know why we get the hiccups. They arrive as unexpected and annoying interludes in our otherwise orderly days—and we use a variety of questionable (and even silly) methods to get rid of them.
However, now scientists at University College London have discovered that hiccups might play a crucial role in our early development—by helping babies to regulate their breathing, MSN reports.
In a study led by Lorenzo Fabrizi, a specialist in Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the university, researchers who monitored 13 newborn babies found that hiccupping triggered a large wave of brain signals that could aid in their development.
Indeed, Fabrizi said in a statement, this brain activity might help babies “to learn how to monitor the breathing muscles,” eventually leading to an ability to control breathing voluntarily.
Since the babies involved in the study were pre-term and full-term, ranging from 30 to 42 weeks gestational age, the scientists believe this development could be typical of the final trimester of pregnancy.
According to the researchers, fetuses and newborn infants often hiccup, MSN reported.
The pre-term and full-term newborns involved in the study had electrodes placed on their scalps and sensors on their torsos to monitor for hiccups.
The researchers found that contractions in the babies’ diaphragms produced three brainwaves, and believe that through the third brainwave babies may be able to link the ‘hic’ sound of the hiccup to the physical contraction they feel.
Kimberley Whitehead, the study’s lead author, told CNN: “The muscle contraction of a hiccup is quite big—it’s good for the developing brain because it suddenly gives a big boost of input, which helps the brain cells to all link together for representing that particular body part.”
The same researchers have previously theorized that a baby’s kicks in the womb may help it to create a mental map of its own body.
Their new findings may show the same process occurring internally.
