Did you know, babies use their mom's scent to 'see' people's faces? Here's what study reveals

Have you ever wondered how babies perceive the world? Or thought why when you visit a close one's little one they seem to recognise you while other times they don't? Well, there seems to be a perfectly reasonable albeit astonishing reason for this! A recent study published in the Child Development journal reveals that babies use multisensory cues to perceive their environments more efficiently and their mother's smell significantly helps them.

Also Read: Meditation can trigger symptoms of depression and anxiety, study reveals

How do babies recognise people?

magicmaman.com/Pinterest

Researchers at the Institut Universitaire de France, University of Hamburg, Universit¨¦ de Bourgogne, Universit¨¦ de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier de Nancy, Universit¨¦ de Lorraine, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), conducted a study and tracked exactly how and when French infants use their mother¡¯s scent to perceive faces.

For the study, the team tested 50 infants aged between four and 12 months and discovered that face-selective EEG response becomes stronger and more complex over this period.

According to the study, young infants employ their mother's scent to recognise people. At the same time, researchers confirmed that as they grow older they can efficiently perceive faces from visual information alone and they do not need to rely on other cues anymore.

Also Read: Night owls have better cognitive ability than early risers, reveals new study

How can these findings be useful for parents, paediatricians, and caregivers of young infants?

triadmomsonmain.com/Pinterest

Following the release of the study, the Society for Research in Child Development discussed with Dr Arnaud Leleu, Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience from the Universite de Bourgogne in Dijon, France who has always been interested about the working of sensory perception in the human brain.

Conveying the importance of this study's findings Dr Leley said, "Our findings reveal the importance of the early exposure to concurrent sensory inputs from different modalities for perceptual learning. Such early exposure to repeated intersensory associations is also a building block for the later development of higher-level abilities."

Talking about the practical use of this study's findings, Dr Leleu highlighted, "Given that our findings highlight the importance of the sense of smell in this early concert of the senses, every sensory modality should be considered when stimulating young infants, not only hearing and vision."

Also Read: Can yogurt help prevent depression and anxiety? Study suggests yes

For more on health, relationships and fashion from around the world please visit Indiatimes Lifestyle.