初生婴儿并不是我们想象的那样，是一张完全没有被涂抹过的“白纸”。由于最近胎儿感知觉研究的再次新起，已经清晰地表明早在子宫中，胎儿就已经开始了感官的认识和学习。

在过去的几年间，逼真的3-D和4-D超声波成像已经更多的为我们揭秘了胎儿的生理机能与行为表象。除此之外，非侵入式仪器已经能够监测胎儿、新生儿的脑电活动。这些洞见都源于先进仪器所获取的丰富的成像，它展现了胎儿是如何运用发育中的大脑与感知觉去自我学习及适应周遭的环境。这一研究改善了对于早产儿的护理，并强调了昏暗光线，熟悉、安静声音，以及母婴之间皮肤接触的好处。

 

Newborns are hardly blank slates devoid of knowledge and experience, contrary to historical notions about the infant mind. Sensory awareness and learning start in the womb, as the recently reinvigorated study of fetal perception has made clearer than ever. In the past few years lifelike images and videos created by 3-D and 4-D ultrasound have divulged much more about physiology and behavior than the blurry 2-D silhouettes of typical ultrasound. And noninvasive devices can now measure electrical activity in the developing brain of a fetus or newborn. Recent insights gleaned from such tools provide a rich portrait of how a fetus uses its budding brain and senses to learn about itself and the outside world well before birth. Such research has improved care for preterm babies, suggesting the benefits of dim lights, familiar and quiet voices, and lots of comforting skin contact between mother and child.