Listening Preference for Child-Directed Speech Versus Time-Reversed Speech in Moderate-Preterm Infants Compared to Full-Term Infants.

The lack of preference for CDS over backward speech in the MPIs group suggests delayed developmental pattern of speech processing compared to full-term peers. Delays in neurological maturation as well as listening experience in an unregulated environment outside the uterus during a sensitive period of brain development may affect the recognition of phonological and prosodic patterns that support listening preference for speech over backward speech.