As the cells get larger, the axons grow longer and the dendrites become
an increasingly complex system of multiple connections like branches of
a tree. The more stimulation the cells receive, the more complex these
dendrites become, resulting in a more developed brain.
The number of brain cells your baby is born with helps determine her
potential, but it is also the number of connections between these cells
that determines her fi nal intelligence. Helping to increase the number of
connections and complexity of the brain cells with stimulation increases
the probability of your baby having a higher intelligence level and IQ.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
It is now known that stimulation of the senses affects the growth of
the brain cells and if a fetus has little stimulation in the womb, fewer
connections are made. Specialists in fetal and infant brain development
have agreed that stimulating your unborn baby's senses can affect the
development of the connections between the brain cells. In fact, the lack
of these connections can actually cause cells to die, especially in the
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eighth month of pregnancy.
By the end of the fi fth month, your baby can hear and begins to learn,
and you can tell when she is reacting to external stimulation. In one
case, pregnant mothers actually had to leave a concert of classical
music before it was over because their babies were kicking so hard in
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time to the music that they couldn't tolerate it.
In another case, mothers were asked to play their favorite classical
music to their unborn baby for ten minutes a day at a volume that was
just a little louder than normal speaking voice. It was discovered that
the babies recognized the change in their environments immediately as
was evidenced by their heart rates increasing noticeably. What is also
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