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Effects of Music Training on The Child’s Brain and Cognitive Development
Abstract
Research has revealed structural and functional differences in the brains of adult instrumental musicians compared to those of matched nonmusician controls, with intensity/duration of instrumental training and practice being important predictors of these differences. Nevertheless, the differential contributions of nature and nurture to these differences are not yet clear. The musician-nonmusician comparison is an ideal model for examining whether and, if so, where such functional and structural brain plasticity occurs, because musicians acquire and continuously practice a variety of complex motor, auditory, and multimodal skills (e.g., translating visually perceived musical symbols into motor commands while simultaneously monitoring instrumental output and receiving multisensory feedback). Research has also demonstrated that music training in children results in long-term enhancement of visual-spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance. However, the underlying neural bases of such enhancements and whether the intensity and duration of instrumental training or other factors, such as extracurricular activities, attention, motivation, or instructional methods can contribute to or predict these enhancements are yet unknown. Here we report the initial results from our studies examining the brain and cognitive effects of instrumental music training on young children in a longitudinal study and a cross-sectional comparison in older children. Further, we present a comparison of the results in these children's studies with observations from our cross-sectional studies with adults.
... From the 12 quantitative studies covered by this review, only 1 study showed no significant benefits of music for cognitive development (Grant, 2021), and only one study discusses potential negative results (Schlaug et al., 2005). In the study by Grant (2021), the author points out that the sample size was presumably not great enough to provide sufficient statistical power, so this study could be victim to type II error. ...
... In the study by Grant (2021), the author points out that the sample size was presumably not great enough to provide sufficient statistical power, so this study could be victim to type II error. As per negative effects, Schlaug et al. (2005) suggests that while structured music education can benefit cognitive development, unstructured or distracting music, such as background music, can interfere with children's ability to learn and retain new information. However, the majority of quantitative studies present positive effects of music engagement on cognitive development. ...
... Lejeune et al. (2019). Active music engagement has been shown to improve cognitive skills in near transfer domains, such as verbal (Herrera Torres et al., 2014; Li, 2022 and motor skills, as well as auditory discrimination (Permiakova & Tkachenko, 2016; Schlaug et al., 2005). Improvements in distant transfer domains have also been reported, such as enhanced memory skills (Bilhartz et al., 1999), numeracy and spatial skills (Li, 2022; Neville et al., 2008; Rajić, 2019, executive skills (Jiménez-Díaz & Esperilla-García, 2019; Li, 2022; Psaltopoulou et al., 2012, and problem-solving (Hollenbeck, 2008; Rajić, 2019. ...
The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the effects of active and passive music engagement on cognitive development. Out of the 66 studies uncovered by the initial search, methods, and conclusions of 12 quantitative, 2 qualitative, and 12 review studies were analyzed. The present review shows active music engagement may improve cognitive skills in near transfer domains, such as verbal and motor skills, as well as auditory discrimination. Improvements in distant transfer domains have also been reported, such as enhanced general IQ, memory skills, numeracy and spatial skills, executive skills, and problem-solving. Benefits for affective and social skill development have also been shown for both active and passive music engagement, while passive engagement is specifically beneficial in clinical settings. However, there are studies that don’t report significant effects. Potential sources of bias are further explored, suggesting that this field may be victim to confirmation and publication bias. Method variety in measurements, sample size, and intervention length, along with the lack of methodological rigor and control groups, prevent us from concluding a direct causal relationship between music engagement and cognitive development. Implications for controlling confounding factors and identifying potential moderator mechanisms are discussed.
... In einer Längsschnittstudie an fünf-bis siebenjährigen Kindern zeigten Schlaug und Kolleg*innen, dass kontinuierliches Instrumentalmusiktraining bereits nach einer vierzehnmonatigen Beobachtung kognitive und gehirnbezogene Auswirkungen haben kann. Dass sich diese Effekte verstärken und zusätzliche Transfereffekte auftreten, je länger die musikalische Ausbildung dauert, wurde in einer von denselben Autoren durchgeführten Querschnittsstudie an neun-bis elfjährigen Kindern nachgewiesen, deren musikalisches Training durchschnittlich vier Jahre betrug (Schlaug et al., 2005). ...
... In mehreren Studien wurde nachgewiesen, dass sich bei Kindern, die im Alter von sieben Jahren oder früher mit der musikalischen Ausbildung begannen, bereits nach kurzer Zeit strukturelle Hirnveränderungen zeigten, welche positive Auswirkungen auf die auditiven und motorischen Fähigkeiten hatten (Schlaug et al., 2005;Hyde et al., 2009;Steele et al., 2013;Habibi et al., 2016). Zudem wurde nachgewiesen, dass Kinder, welche ebenso im Alter von sieben Jahren oder früher mit dem musikalischen Training begannen, über ein wesentlich größeres Corpus callosum verfügten (Wan & Schlaug, 2010;Schlaug et al., 1995). ...
... Dass Musikunterricht bei Kindern zu einer langfristigen Verbesserung der verbalen, visuellräumlichen und mathematischen Leistungsfähigkeit führt, wurde ebenso durch Forschungsergebnisse nachgewiesen (Schlaug et al., 2005). Zudem konnte belegt werden, dass sich langfristiger Musikunterricht positiv auf den IQ und die schulischen Fähigkeiten von sechs-bis elfjährigen Kindern auswirkt (Schellenberg, 2006). ...
Der Zusammenhang von musikalischer Betätigung mit der strukturellen und funktionellen Plastizität des Gehirns ist eine wichtige Erkenntnis im Forschungsgebiet der kognitiven Neurowissenschaften. Dieser Beitrag verdeutlicht die Relevanz der Neuroplastizität in der gegenwärtigen Hirnforschung und die Fähigkeit des Gehirns, seine neuronalen Strukturen unter dem Einfluss von Musik neu zu organisieren. Das Erlernen und Spielen eines Musikinstruments ist eine hochkomplexe Aufgabe und bietet daher eine ideale Gelegenheit, die strukturelle Plastizität im sich entwickelnden Gehirn in Korrelation mit den durch das musikalische Training hervorgerufenen Verhaltensänderungen zu untersuchen. Aufgrund der besonderen Formbarkeit ihres Gehirns sind Kinder dabei ein hervorragendes Modell für die Untersuchung sensibler Entwicklungsphasen, da das musikalische Training bereits im frühen Lebensalter beginnt und quantifiziert werden kann. Die sensomotorischen und kognitiven Verbesserungen, die aufgrund der Plastizität des neuronalen Netzwerks mit dem Musiktraining verbunden sind, können neben Verhaltensänderungen ebenso Auswirkungen auf andere kognitive Prozesse haben. Es stellt sich daher die Frage, wie die Forschungsergebnisse und Erkenntnisse der kognitiven Neurowissenschaften sinnvoll in die praktische Umsetzung geführt und pädagogisch gewinnbringend angewandt werden können.
... Concurrently, the ECN is critical for the formulation and implementation of musical strategies, underscoring its role in higher-level cognitive processing (Chen et al., 2013;Shen et al., 2016). Specifically, the AN specializes in processing beat information, crucial for rhythm perception and generation (Schlaug et al., 2005;Schlaug, 2015;Kasdan et al., 2022). Meanwhile, the SMN alongside the CN is tasked with the precise control of intricate finger movements and the processing of sensorimotor timing, essential elements for the execution of improvised rhythms (Sokolov et al., 2017;Kasdan et al., 2022). ...
... Caveat humming, or the mental rehearsal of rhythms, emerges as a pivotal strategy for PERCs during both SIMP and FIMP, facilitated by the activation of Broca's area (BA44) in the LAN, highlighting the role of rhythm syntax in music cognition (Koelsch, 2005;Koelsch, 2012). Furthermore, activation in the middle temporal gyrus is in line with its importance for rhythmic understanding and mental rehearsal (Schlaug et al., 2005;Schlaug, 2015). The neurological manifestation is corroborated by the self-report of PERCs that they either counted internally, articulated about the intended rhythmic patterns, or recalled rhythms they had practiced. ...
Introduction
Percussionists stand out for their expertise in rhythm, with the network for musical rhythm (NMR) serving a vital neurological function in their improvisation, which is deeply rooted in comprehensive musical knowledge. Our research examines the central representations of various improvisation tactics used by percussionists and investigates the interactions between the NMR and other relevant neural networks.
Methods
Twenty-five percussionists participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions, which included two cognitive strategies of improvisation. Structural improvisation (SIMP) emphasized rhythmic patterns, while free improvisation (FIMP) focused on musical spontaneity. Sight-reading scenario served as the reference condition. Paired t-tests were utilized for comparative analyses.
Results
The findings revealed a dynamic interplay characterized by increased activity in the executive control network and NMR, along with decreased activity in the default mode network during SIMP. During FIMP, heightened activity was observed in the executive control network, NMR, limbic, and memory systems. In both SIMP vs. sight-reading and FIMP vs. sight-reading comparisons, the visual network’s activity decreased, a trend also observed in the comparative analysis of FIMP vs. SIMP.
Discussion
In SIMP, percussionists leverage external rhythmic signals, resulting in heightened NMR and ECN activity and reduced DMN activity. In contrast, FIMP is characterized by a rise in activity within the NMR, ECN, limbic system, memory system, and reward system, underscoring the vital roles of motivation and memory in the rapid production of spontaneous musical ideas within set frameworks. The diminished activity in the visual network during FIMP compared to SIMP suggests less reliance on visual stimuli in FIMP. These findings suggest that various improvisational tactics may engage different neural pathways.
... According to Masataka (2009) and Peretz (2008), humans are born with the potential to participate in musical experiences through composing, performing, and listening. However, several studies suggest that explicit music training not only improves knowledge of music itself but also impacts children's behavioral, functional, and anatomical capacities (Flaugnacco et al., 2015;Hallam, 2010;Hannon & Trainor, 2007;Kraus & Chandrasekaran, 2010;Schlaug et al., 2005). ...
... The effect of music training on various domains is commonly referred to as transfer, which can be divided into near and far transfer (Forgeard et al., 2008;Sala & Gobet, 2017;Schellenberg, 2004). Near transfer implies a close resemblance between the musical skill and the domain under evaluation, such as the transfer of music training to motor skills, finger tapping, or motor coordination (Fujioka et al., 2006;Hyde et al., 2009;Schlaug et al., 2005). Research on far transfer suggests that the domains under study are not easily related to music training, such as spatial abilities and language, among other (Cheung et al., 2017;Flaugnacco et al., 2015;Gooding et al., 2014;Moreno & Besson, 2006;Norton et al., 2005). ...
Music training has beneficial effects on the development of various skills in children, whether it is receptive (listening to music) or active (producing music). Although it is known that emotional items are better remembered than neutral ones, this phenomenon remains poorly understood in preschoolers. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of music training on the emotional memory of 4- and 5-year-old preschool children. One hundred and forty-eight preschool children from two private kindergartens in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were randomly divided into groups to receive either active or receptive music training. The content was adapted from the educational music curriculum or regular music classes over a period of 4 weeks. Next, they observed 24 neutral and emotional pictures, rated their valence and arousal, and their recall and recognition (immediate and deferred) were assessed. The data was analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The between factors were conditions (control versus active versus receptive) and age (4 and 5), while picture (neutral, positive, or negative) was the repeated measure. The primary findings indicated that children exposed to music training had better mnemonic performance than the control group and they remembered more emotional than neutral images. These results highlight the relevance of music programs in school curricula.
... In closing, our findings hint to a potential role of rhythmic entrainment in enhancing social skills and implicit learning, thus providing support for age-old views on the importance of music in formal education. Music training has long been claimed to promote empathy and social behaviors (Wu & Lu, 2021) as well as executive functions (Rodriguez-Gomez & Talero-Gutiérrez, 2022;Saarikivi et al., 2023), language skills (Forgeard et al., 2008;Standley & Hughes, 1997) and overall cognitive abilities (Schellenberg, 2004(Schellenberg, , 2011Schlaug et al., 2005). While acknowledging the ongoing debate over these findings, we hope that the current work inspires future research to substantiate impressions already articulated by Plato in Protagoras: "… By this means they become more civilized, more balanced, and better adjusted in themselves and so more capable in whatever they say or do, for rhythm and harmonious adjustment are essential to the whole of human life" (Woerther, 2008, p. 90). ...
The relationship between musical complexity and enjoyment is often characterized as an inverted U-shaped curve, with maximum hedonic value achieved at intermediate levels of musical complexity. However, the precise psychological processes underpinning this curve remain unclear. In this study, the previously proposed link between rhythmic entrainment and musical hedonia was revisited, to further characterize the processes involved in musical enjoyment related to predictability (inverse of complexity, inherent to entrainment). Building on extensive behavioral literature together with our imaging studies of the neural architecture of rhythmic entrainment and predictive processing, we hypothesized that social bonding and implicit learning may contribute to the relationship between musical complexity and pleasure. Fifty-one healthy participants completed questionnaires and tasks for the assessment of rhythmic entrainment (sensorimotor synchronization task), social bonding (empathy questionnaires), implicit learning (serial reaction time task), and musical pleasure (a, music reward questionnaire and b, pleasure ratings of musical excerpts at varying complexity levels, to asses musical pleasure related to prediction violation). The results showed that the association between rhythmic entrainment (independent variable) and musical pleasure (dependent variable) was significantly mediated by either affective empathy or implicit learning, depending on the musical pleasure metric employed (a or b, respectively). These findings are discussed in view of the active inference thesis and a model is proposed for the psychological forces possibly underlying the inverted U-shaped curve. Beyond supporting the role of music in fostering social bonding and implicit learning, these results speak to a broader adaptive function of music.
... Researchers have pointed out that understanding the musical domain may increase our understanding of human cognition (Brandt et al., 2012;Rebuschat et al., 2011;Schlaug et al., 2005), outlined shared neurocognitive mechanisms (Asano et al., 2021), shared processing (Atherton et al., 2018;Sammler et al., 2013), and the joint prosodic origin of music and speech, providing background to develop language (Brown, 2017), evidence for a shared system based on the observed structural integration of language and music (Fedorenko et al., 2009). Zatorre et al. (2002) discussed the structure and function of the auditory cortex for music and speech providing inside into the functional organisation of the human auditory nervous system and the neural mechanisms responsible for processing music and speech, and evidenced that leftauditory cortical areas are better at temporal resolution and right auditory cortical areas at spectral resolution. ...
This paper reviews musicology, linguistics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience research on the importance of music in developing human speech and cognition. It cites research from several scientific fields on how the brain processes and reacts to melody, rhythm, harmony, loudness, dynamics and types of articulation and timbre. It also discusses musical concepts and prosodic features such as intonation, rhythm and stress related to linguistic terminology and summarises results of earlier research on how the two systems interact to strengthen or weaken an individual’s ability to function without nurturing stimulation. Music is an important preventive and therapeutic factor for human life. The author describes the interplay between music and language in the nervous system, improving or hindering communication and how it affects us personally and impacts societal mental health.
... In this context, past test-batteries were primarily designed mostly for children under the age of 9 years old. However, neuroscience has provided evidence that various brain areas relevant to music activities are constantly changing (Hyde et al., 2009;Peretz & Coltheart, 2003;Schlaug et al., 2005;Stringham et al. 2011). ...
this chapter is geared towards music researchers and educators, yet includes other subjects to contribute information on how and why we make sense of mu- sical ability while trying to evaluate it.
... (3,4,5) La práctica musical activa, como el canto y la exploración de instrumentos, fortalece las conexiones neuronales y estimula áreas del cerebro relacionadas con la creatividad y la resolución de problemas. (6) Desarrollo Emocional y Social El aprendizaje musical también favorece el desarrollo emocional y social, ayudando a los niños a reconocer y expresar emociones de manera saludable. (7,8) En actividades grupales, como los coros o las sesiones de ritmo, los niños aprenden habilidades de cooperación y empática, esenciales para su interacción social. ...
Musical education in early childhood is a crucial component for holistic development, promoting cognitive, emotional, and social skills. This systematic review explores the impact of musical education on preschool children, emphasizing the Latin American and Argentine contexts.Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Studies from 2000 to 2023 focusing on the effects of musical education in children aged 3-6 years were included. Databases like Scopus, PubMed, ERIC, and Scielo were searched using keywords such as "musical education," "preschool," and "child development." Data extraction covered demographics, study design, interventions, and outcomes. Study quality was assessed using the CASP checklist.Results: The review highlights that musical education significantly enhances cognitive development, improving memory, attention, and mathematical skills. Emotional and social benefits include better emotional expression, empathy, and cooperation. Active musical practices, such as singing and using simple instruments, foster creativity and self-esteem. In Latin America and Argentina, musical education reinforces cultural identity and promotes inclusion, albeit with challenges like resource disparities and teacher training limitations.Conclusions: Musical education in preschool is a powerful tool for holistic development, with well-documented cognitive, emotional, and social benefits. In Latin America and Argentina, it also serves as a cultural and inclusive practice. Efforts should focus on reducing inequalities in access to resources and strengthening teacher training programs.
... La neuroeducación, aunque un campo relativamente reciente, ha demostrado ser eficaz en diversas aplicaciones educativas. Según Parbery-Clark (2009) y Schlaug et al. (2005), el uso de la música como herramienta pedagógica no solo mejora habilidades cognitivas como la memoria y la concentración, sino que también reduce el estrés y fomenta la creatividad en los niños. Asimismo, estudios sobre metacognición han mostrado que enseñar a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre sus propios procesos de pensamiento les permite regular mejor su aprendizaje y mejorar su rendimiento académico (Diamond & Lee, 2011;Dunlosky & Lipko, 2007). ...
Pages: 577-589 Resumen: Este estudio presenta una intervención neuroeducativa dirigida a niños menores de 6 años en Cajamarca, Perú, con el objetivo de mejorar su desarrollo cognitivo, lingüístico y socioemocional. El programa, implementado en centros preescolares, se basa en actividades lúdicas, música y estimulación multisensorial. Se emplea un diseño cuasi-experimental con un grupo experimental y uno de control, midiendo mejoras en vocabulario, comprensión verbal, regulación emocional y habilidades sociales. Los resultados muestran que los niños del grupo experimental lograron un incremento del 30% en atención y concentración, un 32% en resolución de problemas, y un 28% en pensamiento crítico, en comparación con el grupo de control. Este estudio contribuye a la evidencia de la efectividad de la neuroeducación en contextos rurales con recursos limitados, proponiendo nuevas estrategias pedagógicas alineadas con el desarrollo cerebral infantil. Palabras-clave: neuroeducación, desarrollo infantil, Cajamarca, aprendizaje multisensorial, juego. Neuroeducation in Early Abstract: This study presents a neuroeducational intervention aimed at children under the age of 6 in Cajamarca, Peru, with the goal of improving their cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development. The program, implemented in preschool centers, is based on play-based activities, music, and multisensory stimulation. A quasi-experimental design was employed with an experimental group and a control group, measuring improvements in vocabulary, verbal comprehension, emotional regulation, and social skills. The results show that children in the experimental group achieved a 30% increase in attention and concentration, a 32% increase in problem-solving, and a 28% increase in critical thinking compared to the control group. This study contributes to the evidence
... There is a debate as to whether these effects are only in the short term (with no lasting effect on intelligence) but positive effects on academic achievement associated with music may be seen in the teenage years (134, 137, 139). Relatively short periods of music training have strong implications on brain plasticity (141) and have strong implications for promoting the development of music-based correction strategies for children with language-based learning disabilities (142). Further, training children in music leads to a long-term improvement in visual spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance (143). ...
... There is a debate as to whether these effects are only in the short term (with no lasting effect on intelligence) but positive effects on academic achievement associated with music may be seen in the teenage years (134, 137, 139). Relatively short periods of music training have strong implications on brain plasticity (141) and have strong implications for promoting the development of music-based correction strategies for children with language-based learning disabilities (142). Further, training children in music leads to a long-term improvement in visual spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance (143). ...
The development of the human brain is a dynamic and complex process, profoundly
influenced by the surrounding environment during childhood. Early life experiences and
educational enrichment play a crucial role in brain development, highlighting the interplay
between genetic and environmental factors (1). The field of econeurobiology provides an
essential framework for understanding how these factors interact to shape neurobiological development. This perspective is particularly significant in recognizing how education and health function as critical social determinants that influence cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children.
... Kajiume et al. reported that participation in enrichment lessons was associated with later occupational success 35 . Schlaug et al. reported that music training resulted in long-term enhancement of visual-spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance in children 36 . Interaction with diverse people plays an important role in the development of social skills in children. ...
This study aimed to investigate the impact of early group childcare on child development using data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. This prospective cohort study enrolled participants between January 2011 and March 2014. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)-3 was used to obtain data regarding group childcare and other factors. The participants were divided into two groups: the early childcare group (exposed group) and the non-early childcare group (control group). The ASQ-3 scores in all five domains, i.e., communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem-solving, and personal-social skills, were compared. A total of 39,894 participants were included in this study. The exposed and control groups comprised 13,674 and 26,220 participants, respectively. The number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off value did not differ significantly between the two groups in any of the five domains at six months of age. However, the number of participants with the ASQ-3 values below the cut-off values was significantly lower in the exposed group for all five domains at three years of age. The difference between the two groups, especially in terms of communication and personal-social skills, increased with age.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-024-81343-9.
... These expertise effects are also visible in children. A cross-sectional study of children aged 9 to 11 showed a superiority of gray matter volume in the sensorimotor cortex (related to motor practice) and occipital regions (related to reading sheet music) in musical children after an average of 4 years of practice, compared with non-musical children [14]. The music therapist draws on the person's sensitivity, creativity and sense of playfulness. ...
... The use of these strategies could be interpreted as the result of the disciplined and structured practice of these students in musical activities and subsequent constructive analysis, enabling them to approach problems, increase acceptance-resignation, and seek solutions to difficulties (López & Pérez Llantada, 2006). The disciplined and structured practice involved in learning a musical instrument strengthens brain functions, increases the volume and activity in the corpus callosum, allowing messages to travel more quickly through more diverse and creative pathways (Schlaug et al., 2005). In this line, research conducted by Biasutti and Concina (2014) in this field confirms that Music Education can work on and improve coping capacity, as the complexities and well-being achieved in the music classroom make it an ideal place to put this flexibility into practice. ...
Academic engagement is a fundamental concept for explaining academic performance in university students, especially in programs such as teacher training degrees, which prepare students for a highly vocational profession. Likewise, the current system for training music education teachers through the major raises some ambiguities regarding the commitment of these students. So, our objective is to compare the academic engagement and some facilitating and hindering variables of it, in students of this specialization with students from other teacher degree programs, with the aim of proposing actions that result in a greater use of these studies. For this purpose, a prospective exploratory study of a cross-sectional nature was carried out, combining descriptive and correlational methodology, with data obtained from different questionnaires. The sample consisted of 610 students from the University of Barcelona. The most significant results that differentiate both groups are, on the one hand, in the facilitating variables of academic engagement (coping strategies, and academic motivation), as well as in the hindering variables (perceived stress and psychological distress). With all of this, actions are proposed to improve and complement the tutorial action plan of music education teachers, and, consequently, improve the academic engagement of these students.
... El uso de estas estrategias podría interpretarse como la práctica y participación habitual de estos estudiantes en actividades musicales y el posterior análisis constructivo, que les permite la aproximación a los problemas, aumentando la aceptaciónresignación y buscando soluciones ante las dificultades (López y Pérez Llantada, 2006). Y es que la práctica disciplinada y estructurada que conlleva el aprendizaje de un instrumento fortalece las funciones cerebrales, aumenta el volumen y la actividad en el cuerpo calloso, permitiendo que los mensajes lleguen más rápidamente, mediante vías más diversas y creativas (Schlaug et al., 2005). En esta línea, las investigaciones realizadas por Biasutti y Concina (2014) en este campo confirman que desde la Educación Musical se puede trabajar y mejorar la capacidad de afrontamiento, ya que las complicidades y el bienestar que se logra en el aula de música hacen de este espacio uno de los lugares idóneos para poner en práctica esta flexibilidad. ...
El papel del compromiso académico en estudiantes de la mención de educación musical https://dx.doi.org/10.5209/reciem.87837 Recibido: 29 de marzo de 2023 • Aceptado: 17 de febrero de 2024. Navarro Calafell, M.; Gustems, J.; Calderon, C. Resumen: El compromiso académico es un concepto fundamental para explicar el rendimiento académico en universitarios, especialmente en estudios como el grado de maestro, que forma estudiantes para una profesión altamente vocacional. Asimismo, el actual sistema para formar maestros de educación musical mediante la mención plantea algunas ambivalencias respecto al compromiso de dichos estudiantes. Así, nuestro objetivo es comparar el compromiso académico y algunas variables facilitadoras y obstaculizadoras del mismo, en alumnado de esta mención con alumnado del resto de grados de maestro, con el objetivo de proponer acciones que redunden en un mayor aprovechamiento de estos estudios. Para ello se ha realizado un estudio exploratorio prospectivo de carácter transversal que combina metodología descriptiva y correlacional, con datos obtenidos a partir de distintos cuestionarios. La muestra estuvo formada por 610 alumnos y alumnas de la Universitat de Barcelona. Los resultados más significativos que diferencian ambos grupos se encuentran, por una parte, en las variables facilitadoras del compromiso académico (estrategias de afrontamiento, y motivación académica), así como en las variables obstaculizadoras (estrés percibido y malestar psicológico). Con todo ello se plantean acciones para mejorar y complementar el plan de acción tutorial de los maestros de educación musical, y, por consiguiente, mejorar el compromiso académico de estos y estas estudiantes. Palabras clave: Compromiso académico; formación de maestros; educación musical; plan de acción tutorial; motivación académica; estrategias de afrontamiento. ENG The Role of Academic Engagement in Students of the Music Education Major Abstract: Academic engagement is a fundamental concept for explaining academic performance in university students, especially in programs such as teacher training degree, which prepares students for a highly vocational profession. Likewise, the current system for training music education teachers through the major raises some ambiguities regarding the commitment of these students. So, our objective is to compare the academic engagement and some facilitating and hindering variables of it, in students of this specialization with students from other teacher degree programs, with the aim of proposing actions that result in a greater use of these studies. For this purpose, a prospective exploratory study of a cross-sectional nature was carried out, combining descriptive and correlational methodology, with data obtained from different questionnaires. The sample consisted of 610 students from the University of Barcelona. The most significant results that differentiate both groups are, on the one hand, in the facilitating variables of academic engagement (coping strategies, and academic motivation), as well as in the hindering variables (perceived stress and psychological distress). With all of this, actions are proposed to improve and complement the tutorial action plan of music education teachers, and, consequently, improve the academic engagement of these students.
... There is a debate as to whether these effects are only in the short term (with no lasting effect on intelligence) but positive effects on academic achievement associated with music may be seen in the teenage years (134, 137, 139). Relatively short periods of music training have strong implications on brain plasticity (141) and have strong implications for promoting the development of music-based correction strategies for children with language-based learning disabilities (142). Further, training children in music leads to a long-term improvement in visual spatial, verbal, and mathematical performance (143). ...
The Econeurobiology of the brain describes the environment in which an individual’s brain develops. This paper explores the complex neural mechanisms that support and evaluate enrichment at various stages of development, providing an overview of how they contribute to plasticity and enhancement of both achievement and health. It explores the deep benefits of enrichment and contrasts them with the negative effects of trauma and stress on brain development. In addition, the paper strongly emphasizes the integration of Gardner’s intelligence types into the school curriculum environment. It emphasizes the importance of linking various intelligence traits to educational strategies to ensure a holistic approach to cognitive development. In the field of Econeurobiology, this work explains the central role of the environment in shaping the development of the brain. It examines brain connections and plasticity and reveals the impact of certain environmental factors on brain development in early and mid-childhood. In particular, the six key factors highlighted are an environment of support, nutrition, physical activity, music, sleep, and cognitive strategies, highlighting their potential to improve cognitive abilities, memory, learning, self-regulation, and social and emotional development. This paper also investigates the social determinants of health and education in the context of Econeurobiology. It emphasizes the transformative power of education in society, especially in vulnerable communities facing global challenges in accessing quality education.
... Moreover, the inclusion of music and physical exercises facilitates the enhancement of non-verbal communication. Motivating kids to move their bodies, applaud, and utilize manual movements while singing or hearing melodies enhances their ability to communicate (Trainor et al., 2003;Schlaug et al., 2005). ...
The study of rhetoric is an ongoing area of research that considers the multidimensional components of communication and the individual speaker. This research paper aimed to elucidate the verbal and non-verbal rhetoric strategies employed by monolingual and bilingual toddlers in Greece and Rwanda (Africa) by documenting their efforts during interactions. To achieve this objective, the researcher developed and evaluated hypotheses concerning the impact of gender, age, and translanguaging use of the children on their rhetorical strategies. The subsequent hypotheses were formulated to examine the associations between these factors and the qualitative variation in the toddlers’ rhetoric strategies, specifically related to gender, country of origin, and translanguaging use. Participants in the study included 100 preschool-aged children (51% boys and 49% girls) attending multicultural and multilingual classrooms. By investigating the potential influence of gender, age, and translanguaging use on the qualitative variation in rhetorical strategies, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the communication patterns exhibited by preschool-aged children. The findings from this research shed light on the role of these factors in shaping rhetorical strategies and provide valuable insights into the field of childhood communication and language development.
... Moreover, the inclusion of music and physical exercises facilitates the enhancement of non-verbal communication. Motivating kids to move their bodies, applaud, and utilize manual movements while singing or hearing melodies enhances their ability to communicate (Trainor et al., 2003;Schlaug et al., 2005). ...
... 36 37 Previous reports showed that participating in enrichment lessons was correlated with development of children and later occupational success. 38 39 Furthermore, Sylva et al established that spending more hours in group childcare was connected to higher cognitive functions, while spending more hours in individual care was associated with lower levels of orientation/engagement. 15 This study had certain limitations. First, the causal relationship between unfavourable parenting attitudes and ASD remains unclear. ...
Objective
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the parenting attitudes towards children with autism spectrum disorders in early childhood in Japan.
Design
This study was a cohort study. The participants were enrolled from January 2011 to March 2014. We obtained the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders at 3 years of age, parenting attitudes and other factors from questionnaires. We divided the participants into two groups, an autism spectrum disorders group and a non-autism spectrum disorders group, and compared the parenting attitudes.
Setting
This study used data from a Japanese birth cohort study: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, conducted across 15 regional centres in Japan.
Participants
The full dataset of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study comprised 104 059 records. We excluded 17 889 records because the answer for the autism spectrum disorders in the questionnaire was blank. As a result, we analysed the remaining 82 411 mother–child pairs.
Main outcome measures
The primary outcome variable was parenting attitudes at 3.5 years of age, which was assessed using a questionnaire. We asked respondents 16 questions related to parenting attitudes, and they answered based on their behaviours. The independent variable was the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders at 3 years of age.
Results
Of the 82 411 participants, the children with autism spectrum disorders at 3 years of age were 372 (0.45%). In most questions about parenting attitudes, the autism spectrum disorders group had unfavourable responses. The difference was particularly noticeable when the parents taught their children social discipline. Unfavourable parenting attitudes were 16.6% in the autism spectrum disorders group and 0.8% in the non-autism spectrum disorders group in the question item with the largest difference between the two groups, a significant difference.
Conclusions
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders tended to have unfavourable attitudes, suggesting the importance of parental training.
... In children, learning to play a complex musical instrument, practicing regularly over extended periods of time, manifests as a driving force for far transfer effects on basic and higher order cognition, sensorimotor skills, and particularly EF [2,3,5,6,8,22,23,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. ...
Background
The optimal stimulation for brain development in the early academic years remains unclear. Current research suggests that musical training has a more profound impact on children's executive functions (EF) compared to other art forms. What is crucially lacking is a large-scale, long-term genuine randomized controlled trial (RCT) in cognitive neuroscience, comparing musical instrumental training (MIP) to another art form, and a control group (CG). This study aims to fill this gap by using machine learning to develop a multivariate model that tracks the interconnected brain and EF development during the academic years, with or without music or other art training.
Methods
The study plans to enroll 150 children aged 6-8 years and randomly assign them to three groups: Orchestra in Class (OC), Visual Arts (VA), and a control group (CG). Anticipating a 30% attrition rate, each group aims to retain at least 35 participants. The research consists of three analytical stages: 1) baseline analysis correlating EF, brain data, age, gender, and socioeconomic status, 2) comparison between groups and over time of EF brain and behavioral development and their interactions, including hypothesis testing, and 3) exploratory analysis combining behavioral and brain data. The intervention includes intensive art classes once a week, and incremental home training over two years, with the CG receiving six annual cultural outings.
Discussion
This study examines the potential benefits of intensive group arts education, especially contrasting music with visual arts, on EF development in children. It will investigate how artistic enrichment potentially influences the presumed typical transition from a more unified to a more multifaceted EF structure around age eight, comparing these findings against a minimally enriched active control group. This research could significantly influence the incorporation of intensive art interventions in standard curricula.
Trial registration
The project was accepted after peer-review by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF no. 100014_214977) on March 29, 2023. The study protocol received approval from the Cantonal Commission for Ethics in Human Research of Geneva (CCER, BASEC-ID 2023-01016), which is part of Swiss ethics, on October 25, 2023. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05912270).
... In children, learning to play a complex musical instrument, practicing regularly over extended periods of time, manifests as a driving force for far transfer effects on basic and higher order cognition, sensorimotor skills, and particularly EF [2,3,5,6,8,22,23,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. ...
Background
The optimal stimulation for brain development in the early academic years remains unclear. Current research suggests that musical training has a more profound impact on children's executive functions (EF) compared to other art forms. What is crucially lacking is a large-scale, long-term genuine randomized controlled trial (RCT) in cognitive neuroscience, comparing musical instrumental training (MIP) to another art form, and a control group (CG). This study aims to fill this gap by using machine learning to develop a multivariate model that tracks the interconnected brain and EF development during the academic years, with or without music or other art training.
Methods
The study plans to enroll 150 children aged 6-8 years and randomly assign them to three groups: Orchestra in Class (OC), Visual Arts (VA), and a control group (CG). Anticipating a 30% attrition rate, each group aims to retain at least 35 participants. The research consists of three analytical stages: 1) baseline analysis correlating EF, brain data, age, gender, and socioeconomic status, 2) comparison between groups and over time of EF brain and behavioral development, including hypothesis testing, and 3) exploratory analysis combining behavioral and brain data. The intervention includes intensive art classes once a week, and incremental home training over two years, with the CG receiving six annual cultural outings.
Discussion
This study examines the potential benefits of intensive group arts education, especially contrasting music with visual arts, on EF development in children. It will investigate how artistic enrichment potentially influences the presumed typical transition from a more unified to a more multifaceted EF structure around age eight, comparing these findings against a minimally enriched active control group. This research could significantly influence the incorporation of intensive art interventions in standard curricula.
Trial registration
The project was accepted after peer-review by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF no. 100014_214977) on March 29, 2023. The study protocol received approval from the Cantonal Commission for Ethics in Human Research of Geneva (CCER, BASEC-ID 2023-01016), which is part of Swiss ethics, on October 25, 2023. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05912270).
... One of the primary benefits of music education is its effect on cognitive development. Learning music can improve brain function, including memory, language, and spatial-temporal skills (Schlaug et al., 2005). In addition, music education has been shown to enhance academic performance in other subjects, such as math and science (Hille & Schupp, 2015). ...
The study determined the attainment of the learning objectives and utilization of resources for the Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) course as assessed by the College of Teacher Education students in a university in Cebu City, Philippines. This study employed the descriptive-correlational method of research using a research-made questionnaire, which was subjected to content validation and pilot testing. All 3rd-year and 4th-year MAPEH majors of the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education majors during the survey were the respondents of this study. There were 32 third-year BSED - MAPEH students and 21 fourth-year BSED - MAPEH students at the time of the study. The study's findings highlight the need for continuous improvement in MAPEH's teaching and learning experiences. Specifically, the need for progress through various stages for effective behavior change, the importance of providing adequate resources and support to enhance students' competence and motivation, and the significance of appropriate learning resources would support students' mastery of MAPEH course objectives and enhance their motivation and performance.
... Auditory training has been shown to induce anatomical and functional neuroplasticity in children [52]. Based on the principle of neuroplasticity, it is plausible that children who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants may benefit more than adults [16]. ...
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to determine the effective duration of auditory training for hearing aid users and cochlear implant users and to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of auditory training.Methods: We searched literature published from January 1996 to August 2021 in Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library. A total of 24 studies that met the selection criteria were systematically reviewed and analyzed through meta-analysis. Standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results: The overall meta-analysis results for auditory training showed an effect size of -0.833, and the effect size was larger in “more than 600 minutes of auditory training” compared to “less than 600 minutes”. There was no statistically significant difference in effect size during follow-up observation after the completion of auditory training, with an effect size of 0.057 (95% CI: -0.113-0.112, p =0.988). Subgroup analysis showed that the effect size was larger in the “children” group than in the “adult” group. The effect size of auditory training was larger when the auditory training and measurement conditions were the same.Conclusions: Auditory training can improve speech perception in individuals wearing HA and/or CI, and the training effect was shown to be maintained even after the completion of auditory training. In addition, it was found that the longer the duration of auditory training (more than 10 hours), the greater the training effect.
... Studies have shown structural differences in grey matter and white matter in children who engage in music (especially during early childhood) compared with those who do not. [11,12] Engaging in arts early in life facilitates autonomy, competence, and relatedness and lowers the risk of developing social and behavioral maladjustment issues in adolescence. [13] Arts engagement, including music therapy and dance, can reduce internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. ...
This clinical practice guide traces the role of art and creativity in mental health and well-being. This is a difficult task since the evidence from research spans a wide variety of fine art forms and different aspects of creativity. Hence, we have tried to combine both evidence-based research as well as our clinical experience and practice in the field of arts in utilizing creative pursuits as a life skill and a well-being initiative. The focus of the guidelines is preventive and promotional with relevance to mental health. We also hope that this should be a beginning in encouraging psychiatrists in India to use art-based therapies in their clinical practice. This will further our knowledge of how arts can be a therapeutic intervention as well as a well-being tool. It will also build on the evidence base on how art impacts our mental health. Creativity is undeniably one of humanity's most valued traits; the capacity to produce new ideas, innovations, and art is perhaps the most striking characteristic of the human brain. “Art” has evolved, and what is art, has been redefined over human history. The domain of “art” refers to the diverse range of activities that often use imagination to express ideas and feelings. Whilst the boundaries of what constitutes art or creativity may sometimes appear esoteric, we still can identify a range of creative pursuits: visual, musical, verbal, literary, dance, or creative pursuits related to our body movements and a range of forms of newer integrated forms and those that use technology are recognized as art forms. As in most ancient traditions, in India, we have a plethora of fine art traditions many of which have a highly systematic practice around their learning. We believe this is an asset that we need to nurture and celebrate. We begin by tracing the footsteps of Indian fine arts being a mental health promotional tool in ancient India. We then proceed to describe the scope of creative pursuits for different populations and its relevance in school and child mental health. We offer suggestions as to how creative art forms can be utilized in a practical way in daily life, schools, and care of the elderly. It is to be noted that the entire focus here is the process of creativity and not the completed product or the achievement related to the same. Hence, it is relevant to each one of us and to anyone who wishes to be healthy.
... Prof., Kocatepe University, School of Physical Education and Sports, yocak@aku.edu.tr music on the psychological mood (Callaghan and Growney, 2013), emotion (Perlovsky, 2014), attitude (Ataman, 2014), cognition (Schlaug et al., 2005), and behavior (Chang et al., 2008) of the individuals and about the psycho-physiologically generally rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (Yamashita et al. 2006;Mohammadzadeh, Tartibiyan & Ahmadi, 2008), and that it has delayed the fatigue and increased the work capacity and even made better the physical performance ergogenically have been made (Terry and Karageorghis, 2011). ...
... In an online learning environment, visual aids such as lyric videos, animated characters, and accompanying gestures can be incorporated alongside songs to reinforce understanding and facilitate active participation. The combination of auditory and visual stimuli improves children's comprehension and retention of the language, leading to enhanced listening skills (Schlaug et al., 2005). ...
Language acquisition in early childhood is crucial for a child's overall cognitive and emotional development. This paper investigates the implementation of songs in English teaching for kindergarten students in an online learning environment. With the increasing prevalence of remote learning, educators face the challenge of engaging young learners in an effective and enjoyable manner. This study aims to explore how the integration of songs can enhance the listening abilities of kindergarten students during online English lessons. The research methodology involves conducting a literature review on the benefits of incorporating songs in language education and an empirical study consisting of online lessons with a group of kindergarten students. The findings indicate that the implementation of songs positively impacts students' listening comprehension, motivation, and overall engagement in the online learning environment. The results also highlight the importance of carefully selecting age-appropriate songs that align with the learning objectives and student interests. Based on the outcomes, this paper offers recommendations for educators on effectively utilizing songs in online English teaching for kindergarten students. The integration of songs in online English teaching for kindergarten students is an effective and enjoyable method to enhance their listening skills, vocabulary acquisition, cultural awareness, and overall engagement in the learning process.
... Instrument practice allows a regional-specific increase in the organization of the pyramidal tract already in childhood (Bengtsson et al., 2005) and extend to cognitive abilities underlying musical training, initially on more closely related fields (Schlaug et al., 2005). Long lasting effects on motor performance appear stronger if the music practice starts before age seven, even if the amount of training was similar, pointing to the existence of a sensitive period in infancy (Penhune et al., 2005). ...
In the last couple of decades, the study of human living brain has benefitted of neuroimaging and non-invasive electrophysiological techniques, which are particularly valuable during development. A number of studies allowed to trace the usual stages leading from pregnancy to adult age, and relate them to functional and behavioral measurements. It was also possible to explore the effects of some interventions, behavioral or not, showing that the commonly followed pathway to adulthood may be steered by external interventions. These events may result in behavioral modifications but also in structural changes, in some cases limiting plasticity or extending/modifying critical periods. In this review, we outline the healthy human brain development in the absence of major issues or diseases. Then, the effects of negative (different stressors) and positive (music training) environmental stimuli on brain and behavioral development is depicted. Hence, it may be concluded that the typical development follows a course strictly dependent from environmental inputs, and that external intervention can be designed to positively counteract negative influences, particularly at young ages. We also focus on the social aspect of development, which starts in utero and continues after birth by building social relationships. This poses a great responsibility in handling children education and healthcare politics, pointing to social accountability for the responsible development of each child.
... Music training and music-based interventions are becoming increasingly popular for developing brain and cognitive functions in children [1][2][3][4][5]. Building on brain plasticity induced by learning music and the tight link between musical and cognitive skills [6][7][8], music interventions have been used as training tools in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as dyslexia [9][10][11][12][13]. ...
Background:
Rhythm perception and production are related to phonological awareness and reading performance, and rhythmic deficits have been reported in dyslexia. In addition, rhythm-based interventions can improve cognitive functions, and consistent evidence suggests that they are an efficient tool for training reading skills in dyslexia.
Objective:
This paper describes a rhythmic training protocol for dyslexic children provided by a serious game (SG) called MILA-Learn and the methodology used to test its usability.
Methods:
We computed MILA-Learn, an SG that makes the training (i) remotely accessible, (ii) consistently reproducible and (iii) follows an educative agenda using Unity. The SG's development was informed by two studies conducted during the French COVID-19 lockdowns. Study 1 was a feasibility study evaluating the autonomous use of MILA-Learn by 2,500 children with reading deficits. Data was analyzed from a subsample of 525 children who spontaneously played at least 15 games (median=42 games). Study 2, following the same real-life setting as Study 1, evaluated the usability of an enhanced version of MILA-Learn over six months in a sample of 3,337 children. Analysis was carried out on 98 children with available diagnoses.
Results:
Benefiting from Study 1 feedback, we improved MILA-Learn to enhance motivation and learning by adding specific features, including customization, storylines, humor, and increasing difficulty. Linear mixed models showed that performance improved over time. The scores were better for older children (P<.001), children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (P<.001) and children with dyslexia (P<.001). Performance improved significantly faster in children with ADHD (β=.06, t(3754)=3.91, P<.001) and slower in children with dyslexia (β=-.06, t(3816)=-5.08, P<.001).
Conclusions:
Given the encouraging results, future work will focus on the clinical evaluation of MILA-Learn through a large double-blind randomized controlled trial comparing MILA-Learn and a placebo game.
... For example, a longitudinal study found that children showed a nonsignificant increase in gray matter volume after 1-year instrument training. The children who received training had better performance in other tasks such as fine motor tasks and auditory discrimination skills compared with the control group (Schlaug, Norton, Overy, & Winner, 2005). In another study, the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right auditory processing areas, was found to be larger in adult male musicians (Lee, Chen, & Schlaug, 2003), suggesting that musicians have greater interhemispheric connectivity and auditory information transfer (Westerhausen, Gruner, Specht, & Hugdahl, 2009). ...
Healthy aging is associated with extensive changes in brain structure and physiology, with impacts on cognition and communication. The “mental exercise hypothesis” proposes that certain lifestyle factors such as singing—perhaps the most universal and accessible music-making activity—can affect cognitive functioning and reduce cognitive decline in aging, but the neuroplastic mechanisms involved remain unclear. To address this question, we examined the association between age and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in 84 healthy singers and nonsingers in five networks (auditory, speech, language, default mode, and dorsal attention) and its relationship to auditory cognitive aging. Participants underwent cognitive testing and fMRI. Our results show that RSFC is not systematically lower with aging and that connectivity patterns vary between singers and nonsingers. Furthermore, our results show that RSFC of the precuneus in the default mode network was associated with auditory cognition. In these regions, lower RSFC was associated with better auditory cognitive performance for both singers and nonsingers. Our results show, for the first time, that basic brain physiology differs in singers and nonsingers and that some of these differences are associated with cognitive performance.
Le Camp musical extra-ordinaire est un projet de recherche participative visant à documenter l’implémentation d’un programme d’enseignement-apprentissage musical synchrone à distance, basé sur une approche informelle. Le projet a été mené auprès de 25 jeunes présentant une déficience intellectuelle ou physique. L’implémentation du programme est documentée à partir d’analyses d’entrevues effectuées avec les étudiants-facilitateurs et de notes de terrain de l’équipe de recherche. Les données analysées portent d’abord sur l’adaptation à distance du programme d’apprentissage informel de la musique, notamment quant aux défis et retombées technopédagogiques de l’enseignement à distance, aux aspects logistiques du projet, à l’établissement du lien enseignant-élève, aux retombées chez les jeunes et au rôle des parents et de la fratrie lors des séances. De plus, le vécu des facilitateurs a été documenté, notamment en ce qui a trait au développement de leur pratique pédagogique, aux retombées perçues de leur participation au projet. Les résultats mettent en lumière les avantages et défis de l’éducation musicale informelle à distance auprès de jeunes présentant une déficience intellectuelle ou physique.
W ostatnich latach badania prowadzone z wykorzystaniem metod neuroobrazowych, dostarczyły wielu cennych informacji na temat plastyczności ludzkiego mózgu. Jednym z modeli do badania neuroplastyczności, który cieszy się coraz większym zainteresowaniem badaczy jest trening muzyczny, który angażuje jednocześnie kilka systemów sensorycznych, układ motoryczny a także złożone procesy poznawcze. Artykuł prezentuje aktualną wiedzę na temat zmian funkcjonalnych i strukturalnym mózgu, które zachodzą pod wpływem trening muzycznego, z uwzględnieniem wieku jego rozpoczęcia, rodzaju a także indywidualnych predyspozycji osoby uczącej się. Celem opracowania jest także wykazanie znaczenia treningu muzycznego dla rozwoju poznawczego dzieci, w tym roli transferu umiejętności muzycznych na inne pozamuzyczne zdolności. W przeglądzie uwypuklono także terapeutyczny potencjał treningu muzycznego, między innymi w aspekcie klinicznym.
This study investigates the benefits of early-age musical instrument learning through a systematic literature review and an observational pilot study involving students aged 5–14 from a private school in Barcelona. Building on prior studies linking musical training to cognitive development, the study examines how structured music programmes influence practice habits, cognitive performance and musical progression. The participants were divided into two groups: Liceo students preparing for conservatory exams and non-Liceo students with limited practice. Data collection combined the use of standardized tests (e.g., WISC-IV) and observational instruments validated by experts. The results revealed that Liceo students practiced an average of 1.5 hours weekly compared to 20 minutes for non- Liceo students. They also completed significantly more musical pieces and performed better in working memory-related subtests, such as Picture Span and Digit Span (p
Recent research on the relationship between the brain and music has increasingly focused on understanding how active musical practice can produce lasting changes in various cognitive functions. Comparative studies of populations with and without musical training have examined whether such training fosters the transfer of music-related skills to other domains, regardless of their direct connection to music. As a result, beneficial effects on cognitive performance have been observed among individuals with musical training, even in areas not strictly related to music. Despite these findings, there is still a gap in our understanding of how musical training specifically affects working memory and verbal comprehension in adolescents. To address this issue, the present study evaluated the impact of a youth orchestra program in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on working memory and verbal comprehension, using standardized tests administered to adolescents aged 12 to 14 years. A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing two groups of adolescents— one with musical training and one without. The results showed significant differences favoring the musically trained group in both forward and backward digit span tests, as well as in the verbal comprehension subtests (Similarities, Vocabulary, and Comprehension). No significant differences were found in the remaining tests. These findings suggest that the youth orchestra program contributes positively to certain aspects of cognitive development, which may, in turn, have favorable implications for academic performance and, potentially, future professional endeavors.
The impact of musical training on brain plasticity has been extensively researched, demonstrating its influence on crucial aspects such as cognitive development, memory, executive function, and language acquisition. This review highlights the main scientific findings that show how musical education strengthens neural connections, induces both structural and functional changes in the auditory cortex, and enhances the integration of fundamental brain networks, such as the salience network.Studies indicate that musical training during childhood enhances verbal memory, auditory discrimination, and reading ability, which in turn facilitates second language learning and the development of mathematical skills. Furthermore, musical training stimulates neuroplasticity in adults and has been successfully used in the neurorehabilitation of patients with cognitive and motor impairments. Recent research also suggests that live music triggers greater brain stimulation in the affective domain compared to recorded music, emphasizing its importance in therapeutic contexts.From an educational perspective, the implementation of music education programs can significantly contribute to students' holistic development, improving their academic performance and emotional well-being. These findings support the inclusion of musical strategies in public education and health policies, promoting their access as an essential tool for human development. In conclusion, musical training not only promotes cognitive development but also presents significant therapeutic applications for diverse populations.
Music has a profound impact on a person's identity and has a complicated and deep relationship with the self. A psychological concept called "musical identity" includes a variety of elements derived from "personal, social, emotional, and musical competencies." It represents how people behave in a cultural and social context and is influenced by their involvement in music and practice. The study of how people acquire their musical knowledge and skills examines the cognitive, emotional, and social facets of this process. The stage theory by Trevarthen and Malloch, which hypothesizes discrete transitions in musical development across the lifespan, is a well-known framework in this area. Another approach is the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) application by Evans and McPherson, which emphasizes the significance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in forming musical identity. Using a lifelong perspective, Lamont emphasizes the impact of social settings and cultural environments on the negotiation of musical identity. Her work emphasizes the significance of early musical encounters, the influence of formal and informal musical interactions during infancy, and the development of musical identity during adolescence and maturity. Understanding these frameworks advances our knowledge of how musical identities are formed and has implications for music education, therapy, and the encouragement of lifelong musical participation.
This study aimed to explore whether music perception is correlated with the load of exposure to musical activities in daily life, such as attending musical events, playing an instrument, attending music classes (at school or for a social project), and the time children spend listening to music using a non-experimental design. We are reusing data from the studies by Barros et al. and Cogo-Moreira & Lamont, from a random school-based sample (multilevel design) including 1,006 children from first to fifth grade in 14 schools in São Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected using the “M-factor”, a new paradigm to assess music perception, and a questionnaire to track children’s self-reported musical activities related to their individual daily lives in different environments (home and school). At the within-participants level, self-reported exposure to music activity accounted for only 5.3% of the variance in music perception after adjusting for age and sex. Hence, the magnitude of the association between music exposure and music perception skills was small when both music exposure and music perception skills were evaluated under continuous scores and using a heterogeneous population.
This paper explored the effectiveness of ensemble performance on the development of adolescent’s life skills. An explorative qualitative study investigated young musicians’ self-perception about the benefits and challenges of learning and playing music together. A convenience sampling technique was adopted for interviewing 15 adolescents (12–18 years old) who participated in a long-term music education programme led by a charity in the North-West of England. The data were analysed using NVivo, employing a thematic analysis approach. Two main themes emerged from the analyses: (1) the main benefits of playing and learning in an ensemble: the development of music and life skills; (2) the challenges experienced by the musicians learning in the ensemble. The findings suggest that participants were conscious of the positive effects of playing in an ensemble on their lives. This extended beyond merely learning a musical instrument, i.e. acquiring music skills. In particular, young musicians recognised they had developed greater self-confidence and cognitive skills such as critical thinking and self-awareness. Primarily, they developed effective communication and interpersonal skills. At the same time, these young musicians recognised they had to face challenges related to the process of learning music in an ensemble, such as managing emotions of frustration and adapting to different music learning styles and techniques. Finally, suggestions are made for the implementation and evaluation of future projects to explore the impact and effectiveness of classical music programmes, with a particular emphasis on ensemble-based initiatives and their influence on life skills. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0306326
The chapter offers an overview of Developmental Dyscalculia (DD), including remediation strategies and a case study showcasing a neuropsychological intervention for a child with DD. The authors emphasize that individual interventions targeting basic maths skills through direct or assisted instruction are considered the most effective. Given the heterogeneous nature of DD profiles, person-centered treatments with specific goals are needed. Different intervention modalities exist, such as math-centered approaches, psychological and behavioral approaches, music training, and multicomponent interventions. The choice of intervention depends on a multidimensional neuropsychological assessment to identify the unique characteristics of each child with DD. The authors present a clinical case where music training was employed aiming to enhance spatial skills and the learning of mathematical concepts in a child. The case study involved structured music training sessions, incorporating rhythmic and auditory activities. The authors conclude that this intervention yielded positive effects on numerical cognition, with the added advantage that music training can be conducted collectively and at a low cost in schools. Furthermore, music training promotes integration by enabling children with DD to participate alongside typically developing children, fostering social engagement.
This article aims to review recent studies on the topic of music
education for children in recent years, focusing on comparing cognitive
performance between children who play musical instruments or receive
music training and those who have not received similar training. The paper indicates that studies in the field of music training have become
increasingly prevalent due to its positive impact on brain development
and cognitive functions, thus giving it significant importance in the
educational field.
The article discusses both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, with
the aim of identifying differences in cognitive performance between
individuals who receive music training and those who do not. All of these
studies have shown that learning music, in general, enhances cognitive
function during childhood.
Keywords: music education, cognitive functions, child, music training,
cognitive development, literature revie
Music is an integral part of human culture and has been the subject of much research on its effects on the brain. This meta-analysis summarizes the current state of knowledge on the impact of musical training on the brain, focusing on the auditory cortex, motor cortex, brainstem, limbic system, and basal ganglia. The findings suggest that musical training can have positive effects on the brain, including increased gray matter volume in the auditory cortex, improved processing of auditory information, and enhanced plasticity. Additionally, musical training can lead to improved motor skills and dexterity in the motor cortex, coordination of basic functions with the beat and rhythm of the music in the brainstem, evocation of strong emotional responses and memories in the limbic system, and regulation of movements and the formation of new neural connections in the basal ganglia and integrated data saving and process network. Some efficient effects have been shown through a integrated model of data saving system of brain that enhances its adaptability in complex processes by making more entanglement in texture of the network. Through the next scenes we are going to analyze these effects and basic differences made by pointed factors. This meta-analysis highlights the importance of music in cognitive development, as an intro config process booster and potential of musical training as a tool for brain stimulation and improvement.
This paper studies of effective strategies and methods to elevate music practical teaching in higher vocational preschool education. Acknowledging the pivotal role of higher vocational preschools in shaping the foundational years of a child's development, the study navigates through a comprehensive exploration of the significance of music education. Grounded in a robust literature review, the paper highlights the importance of curriculum design, instructional techniques, assessment methods, and the seamless integration of technology in shaping impactful music education experiences.Theoretical frameworks, notably the Suzuki Method and Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, offer insights into pedagogical and socio-cultural aspects, emphasizing the creation of positive and immersive musical environments and collaborative learning experiences. Subsequently, the paper presents effective strategies, including the incorporation of technology, active learning approaches, and the customization of lessons to individual needs. The multifaceted benefits of music practical teaching in cognitive, emotional, and social domains are explored, emphasizing its role in holistic preschooler development. The study advocates for continuous professional development for music educators, stressing the importance of staying abreast of evolving pedagogical trends, engaging in collaboration and networking, and remaining informed about current trends and research in music education. By embracing these strategies, educators can cultivate a vibrant and enriching musical environment that fosters a lifelong love for music and nurtures the holistic development of preschool learners.
Otizm spektrum bozukluğu (OSB); erken çocukluk dönemi olarak
adlandırılan yaşamın ilk üç yılında semptomlarını göstermeye başlayan ve
ömür boyu devam edebilen; bireylerin iletişim kapasitelerini ve sosyal
etkileşimlerini negatif yönde etkileyen, rutinlere aşırı bağlılıkla birlikte
duyusal uyaranlara normalin dışında tepkilerin gösterildiği, tekrarlayıcı
davranış ve hareket paternleriyle karakterize olan, son yıllarda prevalansı
giderek artan nörogelişimsel bir bozukluktur (APA, 2013).
Bir çocuğun OSB tanısı alabilmesi için Otizm tanısı için; çocuğun,
Ruhsal Bozukluklar için Tanı Kılavuzu DSM-V OSB Kriterlerindeki
maddelerden en az altısına sahip olması; bu maddelerin en az ikisinin sosyal
etkileşim kategorisinden, en az bir tanesinin iletişim sorunları ve stereotip
davranışlara ait maddelerden olması gerekmektedir. Amerikan Psikiyatri
Birliği’nin 2000 yılında yaptığı yeni düzenlemeye göre, bu maddelerden en az
birinin yaşamın ilk üç yılı içerisinde görülmesi gerekmektedir. (Doyle, 2004;
Audet, 2001).
This chapter discusses the value and importance of music education in maximising student wellbeing and development in the post COVID-19 learning landscape. The importance of participatory music-making, including ensemble performance, is explored, acknowledging research pointing to the value of this area of music education. The rapid development of the neuro-musical field of research over the past twenty years has enabled understanding of the significant benefits of music towards physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional child development. Learning a musical instrument involves the whole brain, including motor networks, auditory processing, linguistic networks, working memory and visual cortices. The landmark longitudinal population-sized study of 112,000 public school students in British Columbia showed that participation in school instrumental music is directly related to higher exam scores (Guhn et al., J Educ Psychol 112:308–328, 2020). This chapter also examines how participatory music education increases child wellbeing and strengthens their sense of social cohesion. There is a growing body of research on the wellbeing and cohesion outcomes of music education programs delivered in low socio-economic communities, modelled on Venezuela’s El Sistema (Osborne et al., Music Educ Res 18:156–175, 2015). These findings have relevance for school communities of all demographics. In the post-COVID-19 landscape music’s ability to build social cohesion, allow for emotional release, and provide proven cognitive development will be pivotal in assisting students to rebuild connections and counteract developmental delay due to interrupted learning.
У статті розглядається важливість створення гуманних взаємин серед молодших школярів засобами музикотерапії. Зокрема, досліджується її вплив на формування гуманних взаємин та корекцію психічного здоров’я та емоційного стану учнів. У статті аналізується погляд учених-педагогів, психологів, музичних діячів та філософів впливу музики на розвиток гуманізму особистості, а також проблеми гуманних взаємин серед учнів молодшого шкільного віку. Висвітлено чинники безпосереднього впливу музикотерапії на формування гуманних взаємин у дітей саме в молодшому шкільному віці та проведено аналіз досліджень, які підтверджують вагомий внесок музичного мистецтва у розвиток гуманізму особистості. Зазначено, що гуманне виховання можна описати як цілеспрямований процес, що має на меті залучити дітей у систему моральних цінностей людства та конкретного суспільства. З’ясовано, що сучасна музикотерапія заснована на відборі необхідних мелодій та звуків, які мають позитивний вплив на людський організм, яка у наш час є важливим елементом психолого-педагогічних і психотерапевтичних методик, що сприяють збереженню психічного здоров’я та попередженню емоційних розладів. У результаті вивчення музики діти молодшого шкільного віку повинні: мати уявлення про мову музики, прийоми її розвитку, основні музичні жанри, форми, засоби виконання; розрізняти народну і професійну музику, розуміти її взаємозв’язок з іншими видами мистецтва, музичні традиції рідного краю; знати виражальні засоби музики, усвідомлювати її значення в житті людей, культурному середовищі; уміти інтерпретувати зміст музичних творів (засобами слова, малюнка, пластики); висловлювати естетичне ставлення до них; втілювати свої почуття та думки у практичній музичній діяльності; застосовувати найпростіші поняття і терміни у процесі аналізу-інтерпретації та оцінювання музики, а також вокально-хорові навички відповідно до правил співу і досвід творчого музичного самовираження.
From an early age, musicians learn complex motor and auditory skills (e.g., the translation of visually perceived musical symbols into motor commands with simultaneous auditory monitoring of output), which they practice extensively from childhood throughout their entire careers. Using a voxel-by-voxel morphometric technique, we found gray matter volume differences in motor, auditory, and visual-spatial brain regions when comparing professional musicians (keyboard players) with a matched group of amateur musicians and non-musicians. Although some of these multiregional differences could be attributable to innate predisposition, we believe they may represent structural adaptations in response to long-term skill acquisition and the repetitive rehearsal of those skills. This hypothesis is supported by the strong association we found between structural differences, musician status, and practice intensity, as well as the wealth of supporting animal data showing structural changes in response to long-term motor training. However, only future experiments can determine the relative contribution of predisposition and practice.
Background
Performing music requires fast auditory and motor processing. Regarding professional musicians, recent brain imaging studies have demonstrated that auditory stimulation produces a co-activation of motor areas, whereas silent tapping of musical phrases evokes a co-activation in auditory regions. Whether this is obtained via a specific cerebral relay station is unclear. Furthermore, the time course of plasticity has not yet been addressed.
Results
Changes in cortical activation patterns (DC-EEG potentials) induced by short (20 minute) and long term (5 week) piano learning were investigated during auditory and motoric tasks. Two beginner groups were trained. The 'map' group was allowed to learn the standard piano key-to-pitch map. For the 'no-map' group, random assignment of keys to tones prevented such a map. Auditory-sensorimotor EEG co-activity occurred within only 20 minutes. The effect was enhanced after 5-week training, contributing elements of both perception and action to the mental representation of the instrument. The 'map' group demonstrated significant additional activity of right anterior regions.
Conclusion
We conclude that musical training triggers instant plasticity in the cortex, and that right-hemispheric anterior areas provide an audio-motor interface for the mental representation of the keyboard.
Musicians and nonmusicians detected infrequent changes to the last note of five-note melodies that either altered the contour (up/down pattern) or the intervals (pitch distance between notes). Robust frontal P3as, reflecting automatic capture of attention, as well as P3bs, reflecting analytic stimulus evaluation, were generated in both contour and interval tasks. These components did not differ across groups for contour, but were smaller and delayed in nonmusicians compared to musicians for interval. However, the topologies were similar for P3a (frontal midline focus) and P3b (parietal midline focus) across groups and tasks, The amplitude of the P3b in musicians was negatively correlated with the age of onset of music lessons. Taken together these findings suggest that (a) contour processing is more basic, (b) interval processing may be more affected than contour by experience, and (c) similar brain networks are involved in generating the P3a and P3b in musicians and nonmusicians.
Acoustic stimuli are processed throughout the auditory projection pathway, including the neocortex, by neurons that are aggregated into 'tonotopic' maps according to their specific frequency tunings. Research on animals has shown that tonotopic representations are not statically fixed in the adult organism but can reorganize after damage to the cochlea or after training the intact subject to discriminate between auditory stimuli. Here we used functional magnetic source imaging (single dipole model) to measure cortical representations in highly skilled musicians. Dipole moments for piano tones, but not for pure tones of similar fundamental frequency (matched in loudness), were found to be enlarged by about 25% in musicians compared with control subjects who had never played an instrument. Enlargement was correlated with the age at which musicians began to practise and did not differ between musicians with absolute or relative pitch. These results, when interpreted with evidence for modified somatosensory representations of the fingering digits in skilled violinists, suggest that use-dependent functional reorganization extends across the sensory cortices to reflect the pattern of sensory input processed by the subject during development of musical skill.
We used both structural and functional brain imaging techniques to investigate the neural basis of absolute pitch (AP), a specialized skill present in some musicians. By using positron emission tomography, we measured cerebral blood flow during the presentation of musical tones to AP possessors and to control musicians without AP. Listening to musical tones resulted in similar patterns of increased cerebral blood flow in auditory cortical areas in both groups, as expected. The AP group also demonstrated activation of the left posterior dorsolateral frontal cortex, an area thought to be related to learning conditional associations. However, a similar pattern of left dorsolateral frontal activity was also observed in non-AP subjects when they made relative pitch judgments of intervals, such as minor or major. Conversely, activity within the right inferior frontal cortex was observed in control but not in AP subjects during the interval-judgment task, suggesting that AP possessors need not access working memory mechanisms in this task. MRI measures of cortical volume indicated a larger left planum temporale in the AP group, which correlated with performance on an pitch-naming task. Our findings suggest that AP may not be associated with a unique pattern of cerebral activity but rather may depend on the recruitment of a specialized network involved in the retrieval and manipulation of verbal-tonal associations.
Magnetic source imaging revealed that the cortical representation of the digits of the left hand of string players was larger
than that in controls. The effect was smallest for the left thumb, and no such differences were observed for the representations
of the right hand digits. The amount of cortical reorganization in the representation of the fingering digits was correlated
with the age at which the person had begun to play. These results suggest that the representation of different parts of the
body in the primary somatosensory cortex of humans depends on use and changes to conform to the current needs and experiences
of the individual.
In this study, we investigated blood-flow-related magnetic-resonance (MR) signal changes and the time course underlying short-term motor learning of the dominant right hand in ten piano players (PPs) and 23 non-musicians (NMs), using a complex finger-tapping task. The activation patterns were analyzed for selected regions of interest (ROIs) within the two examined groups and were related to the subjects' performance. A functional learning profile, based on the regional blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes, was assessed in both groups. All subjects achieved significant increases in tapping frequency during the training session of 35 min in the scanner. PPs, however, performed significantly better than NMs and showed increasing activation in the contralateral primary motor cortex throughout motor learning in the scanner. At the same time, involvement of secondary motor areas, such as bilateral supplementary motor area, premotor, and cerebellar areas, diminished relative to the NMs throughout the training session. Extended activation of primary and secondary motor areas in the initial training stage (7-14 min) and rapid attenuation were the main functional patterns underlying short-term learning in the NM group; attenuation was particularly marked in the primary motor cortices as compared with the PPs. When tapping of the rehearsed sequence was performed with the left hand, transfer effects of motor learning were evident in both groups. Involvement of all relevant motor components was smaller than after initial training with the right hand. Ipsilateral premotor and primary motor contributions, however, showed slight increases of activation, indicating that dominant cortices influence complex sequence learning of the non-dominant hand. In summary, the involvement of primary and secondary motor cortices in motor learning is dependent on experience. Interhemispheric transfer effects are present.
Conducting a large orchestra is an impressive feat that simultaneously
requires the intake of the whole musical gestalt and the analytical
decomposition of the orchestral sound into its components. How, for
example, does a conductor identify a specific musician within a
multiplayer section? Here we provide evidence from brain-potential
recordings that experienced professional conductors develop enhanced
auditory localization mechanisms in peripheral space.
An increased leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale (PT) in absolute-pitch (AP) musicians has been previously reported, with speculation that early exposure to music influences the degree of PT asymmetry. To test this hypothesis and to determine whether a larger left PT or a smaller right PT actually accounts for the increased overall PT asymmetry in AP musicians, anatomical magnetic resonance images were taken from a right-handed group of 27 AP musicians, 27 nonmusicians, and 22 non-AP musicians. A significantly greater leftward PT asymmetry and a significantly smaller right absolute PT size for the AP musicians compared to the two control groups was found, while the left PT was only marginally larger in the AP group. The absolute size of the right PT and not the left PT was a better predictor of music group membership, possibly indicating "pruning" of the right PT rather than expansion of the left underlying the increased PT asymmetry in AP musicians. Although early exposure to music may be a prerequisite for acquiring AP, the increased PT asymmetry in AP musicians may be determined in utero, implicating possible genetic influences on PT asymmetry. This may explain why the increased PT asymmetry of AP musicians was not seen in the group of early beginning non-AP musicians.
Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we compared the processing of sinusoidal tones in the auditory cortex of 12 non-musicians, 12 professional musicians and 13 amateur musicians. We found neurophysiological and anatomical differences between groups. In professional musicians as compared to non-musicians, the activity evoked in primary auditory cortex 19-30 ms after stimulus onset was 102% larger, and the gray matter volume of the anteromedial portion of Heschl's gyrus was 130% larger. Both quantities were highly correlated with musical aptitude, as measured by psychometric evaluation. These results indicate that both the morphology and neurophysiology of Heschl's gyrus have an essential impact on musical aptitude.
Many object-related actions can be recognized by their sound. We found neurons in monkey premotor cortex that discharge when
the animal performs a specific action and when it hears the related sound. Most of the neurons also discharge when the monkey
observes the same action. These audiovisual mirror neurons code actions independently of whether these actions are performed,
heard, or seen. This discovery in the monkey homolog of Broca's area might shed light on the origin of language: audiovisual
mirror neurons code abstract contents—the meaning of actions—and have the auditory access typical of human language to these
contents.
There is evidence that the cerebellum is involved in motor learning and cognitive function in humans. Animal experiments have found structural changes in the cerebellum in response to long-term motor skill activity. We investigated whether professional keyboard players, who learn specialized motor skills early in life and practice them intensely throughout life, have larger cerebellar volumes than matched non-musicians by analyzing high-resolution T(1)-weighted MR images from a large prospectively acquired database (n = 120). Significantly greater absolute (P = 0.018) and relative (P = 0.006) cerebellar volume but not total brain volume was found in male musicians compared to male non-musicians. Lifelong intensity of practice correlated with relative cerebellar volume in the male musician group (r = 0.595, P = 0.001). In the female group, there was no significant difference noted in volume measurements between musicians and non-musicians. The significant main effect for gender on relative cerebellar volume (F = 10.41, P < 0.01), with females having a larger relative cerebellar volume, may mask the effect of musicianship in the female group. We propose that the significantly greater cerebellar volume in male musicians and the positive correlation between relative cerebellar volume and lifelong intensity of practice represents structural adaptation to long-term motor and cognitive functional demands in the human cerebellum.
Many object-related actions can be recognized both by their sound and by their vision. Here we describe a population of neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of the monkey that discharge both when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears or sees the same action performed by another individual. These 'audiovisual mirror neurons' therefore represent actions independently of whether these actions are performed, heard or seen. The magnitude of auditory and visual responses did not differ significantly in half the neurons. A neurometric analysis revealed that based on the response of these neurons, two actions could be discriminated with 97% accuracy.
Several functional brain attributes reflecting neocortical activity have been found to be enhanced in musicians compared to non-musicians. Included are the N1m evoked magnetic field, P2 and right-hemispheric N1c auditory evoked potentials, and the source waveform of the magnetically recorded 40 Hz auditory steady state response (SSR). We investigated whether these functional brain attributes measured by EEG are sensitive to neuroplastic remodeling in non-musician subjects. Adult non-musicians were trained for 15 sessions to discriminate small changes in the carrier frequency of 40 Hz amplitude modulated pure tones. P2 and N1c auditory evoked potentials were separated from the SSR by signal processing and found to localize to spatially differentiable sources in the secondary auditory cortex (A2). Training enhanced the P2 bilaterally and the N1c in the right hemisphere where auditory neurons may be specialized for processing of spectral information. The SSR localized to sources in the region of Heschl's gyrus in primary auditory cortex (A1). The amplitude of the SSR (assessed by bivariate T2 in 100 ms moving windows) was not augmented by training although the phase of the response was modified for the trained stimuli. The P2 and N1c enhancements observed here and reported previously in musicians may reflect new tunings on A2 neurons whose establishment and expression are gated by input converging from other regions of the brain. The SSR localizing to A1 was more resistant to remodeling, suggesting that its amplitude enhancement in musicians may be an intrinsic marker for musical skill or an early experience effect.
Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) express the development of mature synaptic connections in the upper neocortical laminae known to occur between 4 and 15 years of age. AEPs evoked by piano, violin, and pure tones were measured twice in a group of 4- to 5-year-old children enrolled in Suzuki music lessons and in non-musician controls. P1 was larger in the Suzuki pupils for all tones whereas P2 was enhanced specifically for the instrument of practice (piano or violin). AEPs observed for the instrument of practice were comparable to those of non-musician children about 3 years older in chronological age. The findings set into relief a general process by which the neocortical synaptic matrix is shaped by an accumulation of specific auditory experiences.
Auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks are challenging since the MR scanner noise can interfere with the auditory stimulation. To avoid this interference a sparse temporal sampling method with a long repetition time (TR # 17 s) was used to explore the functional anatomy of pitch memory. Eighteen right-handed subjects listened to a sequence of sine-wave tones (4.6 s total duration) and were asked to make a decision (depending on a visual prompt) whether the last or second to last tone was the same or different as the first tone. An alternating button press condition served as a control. Sets of 24 axial slices were acquired with a variable delay time (between 0 and 6 s) between the end of the auditory stimulation and the MR acquisition. Individual imaging time points were combined into three clusters (0 --2, 3-- 4, and 5-- 6 s after the end of the auditory stimulation) for the analysis. The analysis showed a dynamic activation pattern over time which involved the superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, posterior dorsolateral frontal regions, superior parietal regions, and dorsolateral cerebellar regions bilaterally as well as the left inferior frontal gyrus. By regressing the performance score in the pitch memory task with task-related MR signal changes, the supramarginal gyrus (left#right) and the dorsolateral cerebellum (lobules V and VI, left#right) were significantly correlated with good task performance. The SMG and the dorsolateral cerebellum may play a critical role in short-term storage of pitch information and the continuous pitch discrimination necessary for performing this pitch memory task.
Using in-vivo magnetic resonance morphometry it was investigated whether the midsagittal area of the corpus callosum (CC) would differ between 30 professional musicians and 30 age-, sex- and handedness-matched controls. Our analyses revealed that the anterior half of the CC was significantly larger in musicians. This difference was due to the larger anterior CC in the subgroup of musicians who had begun musical training before the age of 7. Since anatomic studies have provided evidence for a positive correlation between midsagittal callosal size and the number of fibers crossing through the CC, these data indicate a difference in interhemispheric communication and possibly in hemispheric (a)symmetry of sensorimotor areas. Our results are also compatible with plastic changes of components of the CC during a maturation period within the first decade of human life, similar to those observed in animal studies.
Previously we found that musicians have significantly larger anterior corpus callosum(CC). In the current study,we intended to replicate and extend our previous results using a new and larger sample of gender-matched subjects (56 right-handed professional musicians and 56 age- and handedness-matched controls). We found a signi¢cant gender � musicianship interaction for anterior and posterior CC size; male musicians had a larger anterior CC
than non-musicians, while females did not show a significant effect of musicianship. The lack of a significant effect in females may be due to a tendency for a more symmetric brain organization and a disproportionately high representation of absolute pitch (AP) musicians among females. Although a direct causal effect between
musicianship and alterations in the midsagittal CC size cannot be established, it is likely that the early commencement and continuous practice of bimanual motor training serves as an external trigger that can influence midsagittal CC size through changes in the actual callosal fiber composition and in the degree of myelinization, which will have implications for interhemispheric connectivity.
NeuroReport14:205^209�c 2003 LippincottWilliams &Wilkins.
A new test for auditory perception, the Auditory Analysis Test, was given to 284 children in kindergarten through grade 6. The instrument, consisting of 40 items, asks the testee to repeat a spoken word, then to repeat it again without certain specified phonemic elements - such as a beginning, ending or medially-positioned consonant sound. Seven categories of item difficulty were proposed. Test results varied, both within and between class groups. Performance tended to improve with age and grade placement. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations of individual AAT scores with Stanford Achievement Test reading scores yielded significant relationships (p<.01) ranging from .53 (grade 1) to .84 (grade 3). Analysis of errors supported the validity of test item difficulty and provided direction for the design of a treatment approach to auditory perceptual dysfunction.
Musicians form an ideal subject pool in which one can investigate possible cerebral adaptations to unique requirements of skilled performance as well as cerebral correlates of unique musical abilities such as absolute pitch and others. There are several reasons for this. First, the commencement of musical training usually occurs when the brain and its components may still be able to adapt. Second, musicians undergo long-term motor training and continued practice of complicated bimanual motor activity. Third, imaging studies from our group as well as other groups have shown that motor learning and the acquisition of skills can lead to changes in the representation of motor maps and possibly also to microstructural changes. Whether the unique musical abilities and structural differences that musicians' brains show are due to learning, perhaps during critical periods of brain development and maturation, or whether they reflect innate abilities and capacities that might be fostered by early exposure to music is largely unknown. We will report studies that indicate that certain regions in the brain (corpus callosum, motor cortex, cerebellum) may show some form of adaptation to extraordinary challenges and requirements of performance. These challenges may eventually lead to functional and structural cerebral changes to accommodate the requirements for musical performance. Furthermore, we will also show the neural correlates of one unique musical ability, absolute pitch. This ability may be linked to one structure in the human brain (planum temporale), which is preferentially activated in musicians who have absolute pitch during tone tasks. This structure may undergo some form of functional plasticity that is possible only during a critical period of brain development.
At its simplest, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) involves a voxel-wise comparison of the local concentration of gray matter between two groups of subjects. The procedure is relatively straightforward and involves spatially normalizing high-resolution images from all the subjects in the study into the same stereotactic space. This is followed by segmenting the gray matter from the spatially normalized images and smoothing the gray-matter segments. Voxel-wise parametric statistical tests which compare the smoothed gray-matter images from the two groups are performed. Corrections for multiple comparisons are made using the theory of Gaussian random fields. This paper describes the steps involved in VBM, with particular emphasis on segmenting gray matter from MR images with nonuniformity artifact. We provide evaluations of the assumptions that underpin the method, including the accuracy of the segmentation and the assumptions made about the statistical distribution of the data.
Recent studies in humans and nonhuman primates have shown that the functional organization of the human sensorimotor cortex changes following sensory stimulation or following the acquisition of motor skills. It is unknown whether functional plasticity in response to the acquisition of new motor skills and the continued performance of complicated bimanual movements for years is associated with structural changes in the organization of the motor cortex. Professional musicians, especially keyboard and string players, are a prototypical group for investigating these changes in the human brain. Using magnetic resonance images, we measured the length of the posterior wall of the precentral gyrus bordering the central sulcus (intrasulcal length of the precentral gyrus, ILPG) in horizontal sections through both hemispheres of right-handed keyboard players and of an age- and handedness-matched control group. Lacking a direct in vivo measurement of the primary motor cortex in humans, we assumed that the ILPG is a measure of the size of the primary motor cortex. Left-right asymmetry in the ILPG was analyzed and compared between both groups. Whereas controls exhibited a pronounced left-larger-than-right asymmetry, keyboard players had more symmetrical ILPG. The most pronounced differences in ILPG between keyboard players and controls were seen in the most dorsal part of the presumed cortical hand representation of both hemispheres. This was especially true in the nondominant right hemispheres. The size of the ILPG was negatively correlated with age of commencement of musical training in keyboard players, supporting our hypothesis that the human motor cortex can exhibit functionally induced and long-lasting structural adaptations.
Musicians and non-musicians were presented with short musical phrases that were either selected from the classical musical repertoire or composed for the experiment. The phrases terminated either in a congruous or a 'harmonically', 'melodically', or 'rhythmically' incongruous note. The brain waves produced by the end-notes differed greatly between musicians and non-musicians, and as a function of the subject's familiarity with the melodies and the type of incongruity. The timing of these brain waves revealed that musicians are faster than non-musicians in detecting incongruities. This study provides further neurophysiological evidence concerning the mechanisms underlying music perception and the differences between musical and linguistic processing.
Neural imaging studies have shown that the brains of skilled musicians respond differently to musical stimuli than do the brains of non-musicians, particularly for musicians who commenced practice at an early age. Whether brain attributes related to musical skill are attributable to musical practice or are hereditary traits that influence the decision to train musically is a subject of controversy, owing to its pedagogic implications. Here we report that auditory cortical representations measured neuromagnetically for tones of different timbre (violin and trumpet) are enhanced compared to sine tones in violinists and trumpeters, preferentially for timbres of the instrument of training. Timbre specificity is predicted by a principle of use-dependent plasticity and imposes new requirements on nativistic accounts of brain attributes associated with musical skill.
Musicians form an ideal subject pool in which one can investigate possible cerebral adaptations to unique requirements of skilled performance as well as cerebral correlates of unique musical abilities such as absolute pitch and others. There are several reasons for this. First, the commencement of musical training usually occurs when the brain and its components may still be able to adapt. Second, musicians undergo long-term motor training and continued practice of complicated bimanual motor activity. Third, imaging studies from our group as well as other groups have shown that motor learning and the acquisition of skills can lead to changes in the representation of motor maps and possibly also to microstructural changes. Whether the unique musical abilities and structural differences that musicians' brains show are due to learning, perhaps during critical periods of brain development and maturation, or whether they reflect innate abilities and capacities that might be fostered by early exposure to music is largely unknown. We will report studies that indicate that certain regions in the brain (corpus callosum, motor cortex, cerebellum) may show some form of adaptation to extraordinary challenges and requirements of performance. These challenges may eventually lead to functional and structural cerebral changes to accommodate the requirements for musical performance. Furthermore, we will also show the neural correlates of one unique musical ability, absolute pitch. This ability may be linked to one structure in the human brain (planum temporale), which is preferentially activated in musicians who have absolute pitch during tone tasks. This structure may undergo some form of functional plasticity that is possible only during a critical period of brain development.
Behavioral manipulations such as housing in an enriched environment have been shown to increase brain weight and visual cortical thickness. The present study was designed to test whether skill learning or repetitive movements can alter the thickness of the motor cortex. One group of 6-mo-old Long-Evans female rats learned motor skills on an obstacle course that increased in difficulty over training and required balance and coordination. A second group ran voluntarily in exercise wheels attached to their home cage but had little opportunity for skill learning. The third group was handled daily but received no opportunity for learning or exercise. Each condition lasted 26-29 d. The skill-learning and exercise conditions had greater heart weight, and the exercise condition had greater adrenal gland weights than controls. The thickness of the motor cortex was measured in four coronal planes between -2.33 mm to -0.3 mm from bregma. Regions of interest that corresponded to published maps of forelimb and hind-limb representations were analyzed together. Rats in the skill-learning condition had significantly thicker medial cortical areas in the two anterior planes (-0.8 and -0.3 mm from bregma). These regions correspond to previously mapped hind-limb representations. The exercise group had greater thickness of the medial region at -0.8 mm from bregma. Cortical thickness in all conditions varied significantly along the medial to lateral axis. For both treatments, the effects were restricted to medial and anterior regions of interest rather than posterior or lateral regions of interest. The results indicate that robust exercise, in addition to skill learning, is capable of altering the thickness of the motor cortex, but that the effects are restricted rather than distributed within the regions studied.
Previously we found that musicians have significantly larger anterior corpus callosum (CC). In the current study, we intended to replicate and extend our previous results using a new and larger sample of gender-matched subjects (56 right-handed professional musicians and 56 age- and handedness-matched controls). We found a significant gender x musicianship interaction for anterior and posterior CC size; male musicians had a larger anterior CC than non-musicians, while females did not show a significant effect of musicianship. The lack of a significant effect in females may be due to a tendency for a more symmetric brain organization and a disproportionately high representation of absolute pitch (AP) musicians among females. Although a direct causal effect between musicianship and alterations in the midsagittal CC size cannot be established, it is likely that the early commencement and continuous practice of bimanual motor training serves as an external trigger that can influence midsagittal CC size through changes in the actual callosal fiber composition and in the degree of myelinization, which will have implications for interhemispheric connectivity.
Auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks are challenging since the MR scanner noise can interfere with the auditory stimulation. To avoid this interference a sparse temporal sampling method with a long repetition time (TR = 17 s) was used to explore the functional anatomy of pitch memory. Eighteen right-handed subjects listened to a sequence of sine-wave tones (4.6 s total duration) and were asked to make a decision (depending on a visual prompt) whether the last or second to last tone was the same or different as the first tone. An alternating button press condition served as a control. Sets of 24 axial slices were acquired with a variable delay time (between 0 and 6 s) between the end of the auditory stimulation and the MR acquisition. Individual imaging time points were combined into three clusters (0-2, 3-4, and 5-6 s after the end of the auditory stimulation) for the analysis. The analysis showed a dynamic activation pattern over time which involved the superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, posterior dorsolateral frontal regions, superior parietal regions, and dorsolateral cerebellar regions bilaterally as well as the left inferior frontal gyrus. By regressing the performance score in the pitch memory task with task-related MR signal changes, the supramarginal gyrus (left>right) and the dorsolateral cerebellum (lobules V and VI, left>right) were significantly correlated with good task performance. The SMG and the dorsolateral cerebellum may play a critical role in short-term storage of pitch information and the continuous pitch discrimination necessary for performing this pitch memory task.
We compared brain activation patterns between musicians and non-musicians (matched in performance score) while they performed a pitch memory task (using a sparse temporal sampling fMRI method). Both groups showed bilateral activation of the superior temporal, supramarginal, posterior middle and inferior frontal gyrus, and superior parietal lobe. Musicians showed more right temporal and supramarginal gyrus activation while non-musicians had more right primary and left secondary auditory cortex activation. Since both groups' performance were matched, these results probably indicate processing differences between groups that are possibly related to musical training. Non-musicians rely more on brain regions important for pitch discrimination while musicians prefer to use brain regions specialized in short-term memory and recall to perform well in this pitch memory task.
Broca's area is a major neuroanatomical substrate for spoken language and various musically relevant abilities, including visuospatial and audiospatial localization. Sight reading is a musician-specific visuospatial analysis task, and spatial ability is known to be amenable to training effects. Musicians have been reported to perform significantly better than nonmusicians on spatial ability tests, which is supported by our findings with the Benton judgement of line orientation (JOL) test (P < 0.001). We hypothesised that use-dependent adaptation would lead to increased gray matter density in Broca's area in musicians. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and stereological analyses were applied to high-resolution 3D MR images in male orchestral musicians (n = 26) and sex, handedness, and IQ-matched nonmusicians (n = 26). The wide age range (26 to 66 years) of volunteers permitted a secondary analysis of age-related effects. VBM with small volume correction (SVC) revealed a significant (P = 0.002) region of increased gray matter in Broca's area in the left inferior frontal gyrus in musicians. We observed significant age-related volume reductions in cerebral hemispheres, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex subfields bilaterally and gray matter density in the left inferior frontal gyrus in controls but not musicians; a positive correlation between JOL test score and age in musicians but not controls; a positive correlation between years of playing and the volume of gray matter in a significant region identified by VBM in under-50-year-old musicians. We suggest that orchestral musical performance promotes use-dependent retention, and possibly expansion, of gray matter involving Broca's area and that this provides further support for shared neural substrates underpinning expressive output in music and language.
We investigated neural activations underlying a verbal fluency task and cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps of Broca's speech region (Brodmann's areas 44 and 45). To do so, we reanalyzed data from a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) [Brain 125 (2002) 1024] and from a cytoarchitectonic study [J. Comp. Neurol. 412 (1999) 319] and developed a method to combine both data sets. In the fMRI experiment, verbal fluency was investigated in 11 healthy volunteers, who covertly produced words from predefined categories. A factorial design was used with factors verbal class (semantic vs. overlearned fluency) and switching between categories (no vs. yes). fMRI data analysis employed SPM99 (Statistical Parametric Mapping). Cytoarchitectonic maps of areas 44 and 45 were derived from histologic sections of 10 postmortem brains. Both the in vivo fMRI and postmortem MR data were warped to a common reference brain using a new elastic warping tool. Cytoarchitectonic probability maps with stereotaxic information about intersubject variability were calculated for both areas and superimposed on the functional data, which showed the involvement of left hemisphere areas with verbal fluency relative to the baseline. Semantic relative to overlearned fluency showed greater involvement of left area 45 than of 44. Thus, although both areas participate in verbal fluency, they do so differentially. Left area 45 is more involved in semantic aspects of language processing, while area 44 is probably involved in high-level aspects of programming speech production per se. The combination of functional data analysis with a new elastic warping tool and cytoarchitectonic maps opens new perspectives for analyzing the cortical networks involved in language.
In the adult brain, melody and rhythm processing have been found to show different hemispheric dominance, with the right hemisphere apparently more sensitive to melody and the left hemisphere to rhythm. We used a novel, child-friendly scanning protocol to examine the neural basis of melody and rhythm processing in young children (mean age 6 years 4 months, n=33). FMRI data were acquired using a sparse temporal sampling technique, taking advantage of the natural delay in the cerebrovascular response to neuronal activity. We found that this group of young children showed some differential specialization for melody and rhythm processing, but to a lesser extent than previously reported in adults. These results suggest that hemispheric specialization for musical processing may develop with age.
The present study investigates the functional neuroanatomy of music perception with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Three different subject groups were investigated to examine developmental aspects and effects of musical training: 10-year-old children with varying degrees of musical training, adults without formal musical training (nonmusicians), and adult musicians. Subjects made judgements on sequences that ended on chords that were music-syntactically either regular or irregular. In adults, irregular chords activated the inferior frontal gyrus, orbital frontolateral cortex, the anterior insula, ventrolateral premotor cortex, anterior and posterior areas of the superior temporal gyrus, the superior temporal sulcus, and the supramarginal gyrus. These structures presumably form different networks mediating cognitive aspects of music processing (such as processing of musical syntax and musical meaning, as well as auditory working memory), and possibly emotional aspects of music processing. In the right hemisphere, the activation pattern of children was similar to that of adults. In the left hemisphere, adults showed larger activations than children in prefrontal areas, in the supramarginal gyrus, and in temporal areas. In both adults and children, musical training was correlated with stronger activations in the frontal operculum and the anterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus.
Adult musician's brains show structural enlargements, but it is not known whether these are inborn or a consequence of long-term training. In addition, music training in childhood has been shown to have positive effects on visual-spatial and verbal outcomes. However, it is not known whether pre-existing advantages in these skills are found in children who choose to study a musical instrument nor is it known whether there are pre-existing associations between music and any of these outcome measures that could help explain the training effects. To answer these questions, we compared 5- to 7-year-olds beginning piano or string lessons (n=39) with 5- to 7-year-olds not beginning instrumental training (n=31). All children received a series of tests (visual-spatial, non-verbal reasoning, verbal, motor, and musical) and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. We found no pre-existing neural, cognitive, motor, or musical differences between groups and no correlations (after correction for multiple analyses) between music perceptual skills and any brain or visual-spatial measures. However, correlations were found between music perceptual skills and both non-verbal reasoning and phonemic awareness. Such pre-existing correlations suggest similarities in auditory and visual pattern recognition as well a sharing of the neural substrates for language and music processing, most likely due to innate abilities or implicit learning during early development. This baseline study lays the groundwork for an ongoing longitudinal study addressing the effects of intensive musical training on brain and cognitive development, and making it possible to look retroactively at the brain and cognitive development of those children who emerge showing exceptional musical talent.
From an early age, musicians learn complex motor and auditory skills (e.g., the translation of visually perceived musical symbols into motor commands with simultaneous auditory monitoring of output), which they practice extensively from childhood throughout their entire careers. Using a voxel-by-voxel morphometric technique, we found gray matter volume differences in motor, auditory, and visual-spatial brain regions when comparing professional musicians (keyboard players) with a matched group of amateur musicians and non-musicians. Although some of these multiregional differences could be attributable to innate predisposition, we believe they may represent structural adaptations in response to long-term skill acquisition and the repetitive rehearsal of those skills. This hypothesis is supported by the strong association we found between structural differences, musician status, and practice intensity, as well as the wealth of supporting animal data showing structural changes in response to long-term motor training. However, only future experiments can determine the relative contribution of predisposition and practice.
Structural specialization of the specialized
- M Bangert
BANGERT, M., D. NAIR & G. SCHLAUG. 2005. Structural specialization of the specialized. Neuroimage 26 (Suppl. 1): 102.
Does brain anatomy predict musicianship
- Schlaug G.
SCHLAUG, G., D.J. LEE, K. OVERY, et al. 2004. Does brain anatomy predict musicianship? Neuroimage 22: 42.
Are there neural cognitive or motoric markers for musical ability prior to instrumental training? Brain Cogn
- A E Norton
- K Winner
- Cronin
NORTON, A., E. WINNER, K. CRONIN, et al. 2005. Are there neural, cognitive, or motoric markers for musical ability prior to instrumental training? Brain Cogn. In press.