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Infant cries convey both stable and dynamic information about age and identity

Lockhart-Bouron, Marguerite ; Anikin, Andrey LU orcid ; Pisanski, Katarzyna ; Corvin, Siloé ; Cornec, Clément ; Papet, Léo ; Levréro, Florence ; Fauchon, Camille ; Patural, Hugues and Reby, David , et al. (2023) In Communications Psychology 1.
Abstract
What information is encoded in the cries of human babies? While it is widely recognized that cries can encode distress levels, whether cries reliably encode the cause of crying remains disputed. Here, we collected 39201 cries from 24 babies recorded in their homes longitudinally, from 15 days to 3.5 months of age, a database we share publicly for reuse. Based on the parental action that stopped the crying, which matched the parental evaluation of cry cause in 75% of cases, each cry was classified as caused by discomfort, hunger, or isolation. Our analyses show that baby cries provide reliable information about age and identity. Baby voices become more tonal and less shrill with age, while individual acoustic signatures drift throughout the... (More)
What information is encoded in the cries of human babies? While it is widely recognized that cries can encode distress levels, whether cries reliably encode the cause of crying remains disputed. Here, we collected 39201 cries from 24 babies recorded in their homes longitudinally, from 15 days to 3.5 months of age, a database we share publicly for reuse. Based on the parental action that stopped the crying, which matched the parental evaluation of cry cause in 75% of cases, each cry was classified as caused by discomfort, hunger, or isolation. Our analyses show that baby cries provide reliable information about age and identity. Baby voices become more tonal and less shrill with age, while individual acoustic signatures drift throughout the first months of life. In contrast, neither machine learning algorithms nor trained adult listeners can reliably recognize the causes of crying. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Communications Psychology
volume
1
article number
26
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
ISSN
2731-9121
DOI
10.1038/s44271-023-00022-z
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a2c537b7-ef0c-4b47-87a2-6097a65e3156
date added to LUP
2023-10-02 14:48:21
date last changed
2024-01-11 08:05:16
@article{a2c537b7-ef0c-4b47-87a2-6097a65e3156,
  abstract     = {{What information is encoded in the cries of human babies? While it is widely recognized that cries can encode distress levels, whether cries reliably encode the cause of crying remains disputed. Here, we collected 39201 cries from 24 babies recorded in their homes longitudinally, from 15 days to 3.5 months of age, a database we share publicly for reuse. Based on the parental action that stopped the crying, which matched the parental evaluation of cry cause in 75% of cases, each cry was classified as caused by discomfort, hunger, or isolation. Our analyses show that baby cries provide reliable information about age and identity. Baby voices become more tonal and less shrill with age, while individual acoustic signatures drift throughout the first months of life. In contrast, neither machine learning algorithms nor trained adult listeners can reliably recognize the causes of crying.}},
  author       = {{Lockhart-Bouron, Marguerite and Anikin, Andrey and Pisanski, Katarzyna and Corvin, Siloé and Cornec, Clément and Papet, Léo and Levréro, Florence and Fauchon, Camille and Patural, Hugues and Reby, David and Mathevon, Nicolas}},
  issn         = {{2731-9121}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Communications Psychology}},
  title        = {{Infant cries convey both stable and dynamic information about age and identity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44271-023-00022-z}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s44271-023-00022-z}},
  volume       = {{1}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}