The finding could suggest that babies with better memory and motor skills may advance faster in their verbal abilities, but it isn't clear if that is based on genetic or environmental factors, Dr. Kuhl says.

WSJ: Wise Beyond Their Years: What Babies Really Know

This is done by examining the combined concentration of gray and white matter, or nerve cells and fiber tracts, in parts of the brain not normally used for verbal processing the hippocampus and cerebellum, normally associated with memory and motor learning.

WSJ: Wise Beyond Their Years: What Babies Really Know

He teamed up with Carnegie Mellon economist George Loewenstein and others to test 87 residents of a poor village in India on a variety of tasks involving memory, fine motor skills and creativity.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Up to a third of cases are fatal and those who survive may face memory loss, impaired cognition and motor difficulties (the virus affects the nervous system).

CNN: ON DEADLY GROUND