31 Weeks of Pregnancy | Third Trimester | Fetal Stage

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At 31 weeks of pregnancy, the fetal brain may develop the areas responsible for speech and language [1]. The brain stem may be highly developed, including the pons and the reticular activating system [2]. The pons, which links the brain and spinal cord, regulates processes like breathing and regulating brain activity during sleep [3]. The reticular activating system is responsible for actions like focusing one’s attention and arousal [4].

The fetal nervous system matures at different rates in female and male fetuses [5]. In female fetuses, the startle response is now mature [5]. It takes six more weeks for the startle response to mature in male fetuses [5].

References:
1. Chi JG, Dooling EC, Gilles FH. Left-right asymmetries of the temporal speech areas of the human fetus. Arch Neurol. 1977;34: 346–348.
2. Okai T, Kozuma S, Shinozuka N, Kuwabara Y, Mizuno M. A study on the development of sleep-wakefulness cycle in the human fetus. Early Hum Dev. 1992;29: 391–396.
3. Spielman RM, Dumper K, Jenkins W, Lacombe A, Lovett M, Perlmutter M. The brain and spinal cord. Psychology - H5P Edition. BCcampus; 2021.
4. Arguinchona JH, Tadi P. Neuroanatomy, Reticular Activating System. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.
5. Buss C, Davis EP, Class QA, Gierczak M, Pattillo C, Glynn LM, et al. Maturation of the human fetal startle response: evidence for sex-specific maturation of the human fetus. Early Hum Dev. 2009;85: 633–638.

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Produced and written by: Samantha Lattof, PhD MSc
Medically reviewed by: Ayodeji Olelakan Abere, MD MBA MHA
Animation by: SciePro / Pond5
Music by: audiomarket / Pond5
Narration by: Ava / Wellsaid