Name: 赤ちゃんのしゃっくりが多い不思議な理由 (The Wonderful Reason Babies Hiccup So Much)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T10:42:40.000Z
Duration: 3 min 4 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

Usually, they're no big deal – unless you're one

of the 4,000 Americans admitted to the hospital

every year for hiccups, or you're that Iowa farmer

Still, even the occasional bout of hiccups can be annoying.

And as you hold your breath or gulp down water

to try to make them stop, you may wonder:

But teeny little baby hiccups might provide a clue.

(that dome-shaped muscle below your lungs

that drives your breathing) and the glottis

Basically, they occur when your diaphragm spasms,

That forces your glottis to audibly slam shut.

And everyone experiences them at some point —

they're one of the first things we do in the womb.

Fetuses begin hiccuping at just nine weeks old.

Though, young babies still hiccup a bunch,

For example, preterm newborns (those born before 37 weeks)

spend an average of 15 minutes a day hiccuping!

Which got scientists at University College London

thinking that there might be a developmental purpose

So for a study published in December 2019,

they outfitted 13 newborns with a cute cap of electrodes

They found that every time a baby's diaphragm contracted,

it triggered two large brainwaves, then a third brainwave.

because it looks similar to the brainwave created when we hear a noise.

So, the researchers think the babies may be hearing the “hic”

with the sensation of their diaphragm contracting.

This may allow their brains to form neural circuits

which help them sense what's happening with their internal organs.

The fancy scientific term for this ability is interoception,

and it's how you know you're having trouble breathing,

or your stomach feels full, or your heart is beating fast.

the brain and the diaphragm could also help them

The same scientists think something similar

Basically, those kicks may help them create mental maps

of their bodies so they can sense where their legs are,

and, eventually, learn to make voluntary movements.

don't need to learn how to breathe anymore?

of this reflex after it's served its purpose.

There aren't a whole lot of studies of run-of-the mill

occasional hiccuping in adults since, well,

it's not really something doctors are concerned about.

So maybe if scientists investigated hiccups more,

Thanks for asking about hiccups, Michelle and Anne!

And thanks in general to all of our patrons on Patreon.

We have the most wonderfully nerdy community of supporters!

If you'd like to join them, you can learn more at Patreon.com/SciShow.

And if you're already a patron and have a weird question

like this about how the world works, drop it in our QQ inbox!

we make some of them into videos like this one.