Effects of a school-based instrumental music program on verbal and visual memory in primary school children: a longitudinal study

Cognitive enrichment through art: a randomized controlled trial on the effect of music or visual arts group practice on cognitive and brain development of young children

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).

Music training affects listeners' processing of different types of accentuation information: Evidence from ERPs

Previous studies found that prolonged musical training can promote language processing, but few studies have examined whether and how musical training affects the processing of accentuation in spoken language. In this study, a vocabulary detection task was conducted, with Chinese single sentences as materials, to investigate how musicians and non-musicians process corrective accent and information accent in the sentence-middle and sentence-final positions. In the sentence-middle position, results of the cluster-based permutation t-tests showed significant differences in the 574-714 ms time window for the control group. In the sentence-final position, the cluster-based permutation t-tests revealed significant differences in the 612-810 ms time window for the music group and in the 616-812 ms time window for the control group. These significant positive effects were induced by the processing of information accent relative to that of corrective accent. These results suggest that both groups were able to distinguish corrective accent from information accent, but they processed the two accent types differently in the sentence-middle position. These findings show that musical training has a cross-domain effect on spoken language processing and that the accent position also affects its processing.

Multimodal music training enhances executive functions in children: Results of a randomized controlled trial

Music training programs have shown mixed results on children's executive functions. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a 10-week multimodal music program with vocal development, bimanual coordination, and musical improvisation, on children's executive functions. We hypothesized that a 10-week music program would enhance executive functions in working memory in 4- to 6-year-old children. Eighty-four children were randomly assigned to a multimodal music program, an active control Lego program, or no treatment control condition (i.e., randomized controlled design). All children completed measures of music aptitude, music achievement, and executive functions (i.e., EF Touch) pre- and post-training. Results revealed enhanced pitch accuracy and working memory for children in the music training group as compared to the other conditions. Children in the Lego condition demonstrated significant enhancements of spatial working memory. Tonal music aptitude significantly predicted performance on measures of working memory. Contributions to the literature include the randomized controlled design, group multimodal music program appropriate for 4- to 6-year-old children, and the use of executive function measures sensitive to individual differences.

Music, Math, and Working Memory: Magnetoencephalography Mapping of Brain Activation in Musicians

Musical transposing is highly demanding of working memory, as it involves mentally converting notes from one musical key (i.e., pitch scale) to another key for singing or instrumental performance. Because musical transposing involves mental adjustment of notes up or down by a specific amount, it may share cognitive elements with arithmetical operations of addition and subtraction. We compared brain activity during high and low working memory load conditions of musical transposing versus math calculations in classically trained musicians. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was sensitive to differences of task and working memory load. Frontal-occipital connections were highly active during transposing, but not during math calculations. Right motor and premotor regions were highly active in the more difficult condition of the transposing task. Multiple frontal lobe regions were highly active across tasks, including the left medial frontal area during both transposing and calculation tasks but the right medial frontal area only during calculations. In the more difficult calculation condition, right temporal regions were highly active. In coherence analyses and neural synchrony analyses, several similarities were seen across calculation tasks; however, latency analyses were sensitive to differences in task complexity across the calculation tasks due to the high temporal resolution of MEG. MEG can be used to examine musical cognition and the neural consequences of music training. Further systematic study of brain activity during high versus low memory load conditions of music and other cognitive tasks is needed to illuminate the neural bases of enhanced working memory ability in musicians as compared to non-musicians.

Electrophysiological Evidence of Enhanced Auditory Retrieval in Musically Trained Children

Abstract. Musical practice enhances auditory processing in children as related to pitch perception or tonal discrimination. The purpose of this study was to examine whether these benefits also occur in auditory working memory by influencing its neural substrates. Two groups of children aged between 7 and 11 years old were compared using an auditory retrieval task with three conditions: frequency retrieval, duration retrieval, and control. Musician children had weekly private violin or cello lessons for at least 14 months, whereas non-musician children had no musical training. Results showed that musicians’ scores on the Gordon’s Primary Measure of Music Audiation test were significantly higher than non-musicians’ scores in the rhythm and tone conditions. On memory tasks, musicians outperformed non-musicians in frequency retrieval but not in duration retrieval. Differences in retrieval performance were associated with a larger P200-like waveform over frontal sites in musicians and a larger N400-like waveform over centro-parietal sites in non-musicians. A source current density analysis revealed differences in frontal activities between musicians and non-musicians, suggesting that musical training influenced the neural mechanisms supporting auditory retrieval in children. These results are in agreement with previous studies that showed a better auditory memory in musicians. Furthermore, they suggest that in children, the effect of musical training can be strong enough to positively influence higher-order auditory memory processes such as active retrieval, as well as their neural correlates.

Difference in Executive Functions Development Level between Two Groups: Preschool Children Who Took Extra Music Classes in Art Schools and Children Who Took Only General Music and Dance Classes Offered by Preschools

Previous studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between attending music classes regularly and the development of executive functions. This paper discusses the results of a pilot study dedicated to determining the difference in the level of development of the components of executive functions (inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory), between 5–6-year-old children taking extra music classes, and children who participated only in general music and dance education in kindergarten. A total of 94 senior preschoolers from Moscow kindergartens took part in the study. Children were selected into an “extra music lessons” group and a “general preschool music and dance lessons” group based on the results of a questionnaire on supplementary education, which was filled in by parents prior to the research starting. The respondents from the “extra music and dance lessons” group attended music classes in art schools at least two times a week, both in individual and group formats. The current study revealed that children attending regular extra music classes had a higher level of inhibitory control, audio–verbal working memory, cognitive flexibility, and general coordination of the development of all executive functions. The obtained results support the value of regular extra music classes at preschool age. Moreover, this pilot study allows us to articulate the recommendations for further research in this direction.

Effects of Music Training on the Auditory Working Memory of Chinese-Speaking School-Aged Children: A Longitudinal Intervention Study

Music expertise is known to be beneficial for cognitive function and development. In this study, we conducted 1-year music training for school children (n = 123; 7-11 years of age before training) in China. The children were assigned to music or second-language after-class training groups. A passive control group was included. We aimed to investigate whether music training could facilitate working memory (WM) development compared to second-language training and no training. Before and after the training, auditory WM was measured via a digit span (DS) task, together with the vocabulary and block tests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Child IV (WISC-IV). The results of the DS task revealed superior development in the music group compared to the other groups. However, further analysis of DS forward and backward tasks indicated that the performance of the three training/non-training groups only differed significantly in DS backward scores, but not in the DS forward scores. We conclude that music training may benefit the central executive system of WM, as reflected by the DS backward task.

Development and preliminary validation of the Emotions while Learning an Instrument Scale (ELIS)

Learning to play a musical instrument is associated with different, partially conflicting emotions. This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of the Emotions while Learning an Instrument Scale (ELIS). In a longitudinal study with 545 German elementary school children factorial structure and psychometric properties were evaluated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a two-factor solution measuring Positive musical Emotions while Learning an Instrument (PELI) and Negative Emotions while Learning an Instrument (NELI). Both subscales yielded scores with adequate internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = .74, .86) and relatively stable retest reliabilities over 18 months (r = .11 -.56). Preliminary evidence of congruent and divergent validity of the subscales is provided. Implications for future research of musical emotional experiences in children are discussed.

The Effect of Musical Training and Working Memory in Adverse Listening Situations

OBJECTIVES

Speech-in-noise (SIN) perception is essential for everyday communication. In most communication situations, the listener requires the ability to process simultaneous complex auditory signals to understand the target speech or target sound. As the listening situation becomes more difficult, the ability to distinguish between speech and noise becomes dependent on recruiting additional cognitive resources, such as working memory (WM). Previous studies have explored correlations between WM and SIN perception in musicians and nonmusicians, with mixed findings. However, no study to date has examined the speech perception abilities of musicians and nonmusicians with similar WM capacity. The objectives of this study were to investigate (1) whether musical experience results in improved listening in adverse listening situations, and (2) whether the benefit of musical experience can be separated from the effect of greater WM capacity.

DESIGN

Forty-nine young musicians and nonmusicians were assigned to subgroups of high versus low WM, based on the performance on the backward digit span test. To investigate the effects of music training and WM on SIN perception, performance was assessed on clinical tests of speech perception in background noise. Listening effort (LE) was assessed in a dual-task paradigm and via self-report. We hypothesized that musicians would have an advantage when listening to SIN, at least in terms of reduced LE.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between musicians and nonmusicians, and no significant interaction between music training and WM on any of the outcome measures used in this study. However, a significant effect of WM on SIN ability was found on both the Quick Speech-In-Noise test (QuickSIN) and the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) tests.

CONCLUSION

The results of this experiment suggest that music training does not provide an advantage in adverse listening situations either in terms of improved speech understanding or reduced LE. While musicians have been shown to have heightened basic auditory abilities, the effect on SIN performance may be more subtle. Our results also show that regardless of prior music training, listeners with high WM capacity are able to perform significantly better on speech-in-noise tasks.

Arts in Education: A Systematic Review of Competency Outcomes in Quasi-Experimental and Experimental Studies

Arts education in schools frequently experiences the pressure of being validated by demonstrating quantitative impact on academic outcomes. The quantitative evidence to date has been characterized by the application of largely correlational designs and frequently applies a narrow focus on instrumental outcomes such as academically relevant competencies. The present review aims to summarize quantitative evidence from quasi-experimental and experimental studies with pre-test post-test designs on the effects of school-based arts education on a broader range of competency outcomes, including intra- and interindividual competencies. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant evaluation studies. Twenty-four articles reporting on 26 evaluation studies were eligible for inclusion, and their results were reviewed in terms of art domains and outcome categories. Whilst there is some evidence of beneficial effects on some competencies, for example of music education on arithmetic abilities, speech segmentation and processing speed, the evidence across arts domains and for different outcomes is limited due to small sample sizes, small number of studies, and a large range of effect sizes. The review highlights that sufficiently powered (quasi-)experimental studies with pre-test post-test designs evaluating arts education are sparse and that the "gold standard" of experimental research comes at the expense of a number of other study characteristics such as sample size, intervention and follow-up length. By summarizing the limitations of the current (quasi-)experimental research, the application of experimental designs is critically assessed and a combination with qualitative methods in mixed-method designs and choice of relevant outcomes discussed.

How Musicality, Cognition and Sensorimotor Skills Relate in Musically Untrained Children

Abstract. Whereas a growing corpus of research has investigated the impact of music practice on several domains of cognition, studies on the relationships between musicality and other abilities and skills in musically untrained children are scarce. The present study examined the associations between musicality, cognition, and sensorimotor skills in 69 musically untrained primary school children of around 10 years of age, using a test battery of musical, cognitive, and sensorimotor abilities. We analyzed the results using nonparametric correlations and an exploratory factor analysis. It was our anticipation that basic cognitive resources (short-term and working memory, attention, processing speed) would relate to both higher-order cognition and musicality. Results indicated that, in musically untrained children, the interconnections between musical and cognitive abilities restrain to auditory short-term and working memory. Direct associations between musicality and higher-order cognitive processes did not occur. An interesting secondary finding comprised associations between sensorimotor function, as measured by the Purdue Pegboard test, and higher-order cognition. Specifically, we found an association between bimanual coordination of fine finger dexterity and matrix reasoning. This outcome suggests that higher-order cognitive function benefits from an efficient mastering of procedural aspects of sensorimotor skills.

Cognitive and academic benefits of music training with children: A multilevel meta-analysis

Music training has repeatedly been claimed to positively impact children's cognitive skills and academic achievement (literacy and mathematics). This claim relies on the assumption that engaging in intellectually demanding activities fosters particular domain-general cognitive skills, or even general intelligence. The present meta-analytic review (N = 6,984, k = 254, m = 54) shows that this belief is incorrect. Once the quality of study design is controlled for, the overall effect of music training programs is null ([Formula: see text] ≈ 0) and highly consistent across studies (τ2 ≈ 0). Results of Bayesian analyses employing distributional assumptions (informative priors) derived from previous research in cognitive training corroborate these conclusions. Small statistically significant overall effects are obtained only in those studies implementing no random allocation of participants and employing non-active controls ([Formula: see text] ≈ 0.200, p < .001). Interestingly, music training is ineffective regardless of the type of outcome measure (e.g., verbal, non-verbal, speed-related, etc.), participants' age, and duration of training. Furthermore, we note that, beyond meta-analysis of experimental studies, a considerable amount of cross-sectional evidence indicates that engagement in music has no impact on people's non-music cognitive skills or academic achievement. We conclude that researchers' optimism about the benefits of music training is empirically unjustified and stems from misinterpretation of the empirical data and, possibly, confirmation bias.

Formal String Instrument Training in a Class Setting Enhances Cognitive and Sensorimotor Development of Primary School Children

This cluster randomized controlled trial provides evidence that focused musical instrumental practice, in comparison to traditional sensitization to music, provokes multiple transfer effects in the cognitive and sensorimotor domain. Over the last 2 years of primary school (10-12 years old), 69 children received group music instruction by professional musicians twice a week as part of the regular school curriculum. The intervention group learned to play string instruments, whereas the control group (i.e., peers in parallel classes) was sensitized to music via listening, theory and some practice. Broad benefits manifested in the intervention group as compared to the control group for working memory, attention, processing speed, cognitive flexibility, matrix reasoning, sensorimotor hand function, and bimanual coordination Apparently, learning to play a complex instrument in a dynamic group setting impacts development much stronger than classical sensitization to music. Our results therefore highlight the added value of intensive musical instrumental training in a group setting within the school curriculum. These results encourage general implementation of such training in public primary schools, thus better preparing children for secondary school and for daily living activities.

Uso de la música para modular la memoria: Una revisión sistemática

La memoria es una función cognitiva que permite al ser humano adquirir, almacenar y recuperar información. Dentro de la literatura se identifican diversos factores que tienen la capacidad de modificar la capacidad mnémica, así como también afectar las diferentes fases de formación de la memoria. En este sentido el objetivo del presente artículo de revisión sistemática estuvo orientado a presentar los antecedentes en cuanto al efecto de la música, como entrenamiento musical prolongado, así como intervención focal, sobre esta función cognitiva. Se seleccionaron 39 artículos de investigación empírica extraídos de diversas bases de datos. A través de la evidencia presentada se concluye que las propuestas musicales representan una potencial herramienta para abordar no sólo el estudio de la memoria, sino también para la estimulación y rehabilitación de la misma.

Music Education at School: Too Little and Too Late? Evidence From a Longitudinal Study on Music Training in Preadolescents

It is widely believed that intensive music training can boost cognitive and visuo-motor skills. However, this evidence is primarily based on retrospective studies; this makes it difficult to determine whether a cognitive advantage is caused by the intensive music training, or it is instead a factor influencing the choice of starting a music curriculum. To address these issues in a highly ecological setting, we tested longitudinally 128 students of a Middle School in Milan, at the beginning of the first class and, 1 year later, at the beginning of the second class. 72 students belonged to a Music curriculum (30 with previous music experience and 42 without) and 56 belonged to a Standard curriculum (44 with prior music experience and 12 without). Using a Principal Component Analysis, all the cognitive measures were grouped in four high-order factors, reflecting (a) General Cognitive Abilities, (b) Speed of Linguistic Elaboration, (c) Accuracy in Reading and Memory tests, and (d) Visuospatial and numerical skills. The longitudinal comparison of the four groups of students revealed that students from the Music curriculum had better performance in tests tackling General Cognitive Abilities, Visuospatial skills, and Accuracy in Reading and Memory tests. However, there were no significant curriculum-by-time interactions. Finally, the decision to have a musical experience before entering middle school was more likely to occur when the cultural background of the families was a high one. We conclude that a combination of family-related variables, early music experience, and pre-existent cognitive make-up is a likely explanation for the decision to enter a music curriculum at middle school.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Decoding Skills - Implications for Music and Reading

Music education is associated with increased speech perception abilities and anecdotal evidence suggests musical training is also beneficial for performance in a variety of academic areas. In spite of this positive association, very little empirical evidence exists to support this claim except for a few studies linking musical training to improvements in verbal tasks. We evaluated the relationships between specific aspects of musical training/ability and scores on a series of standardized reading assessments in a sample of twins. There was a significant and positive relationship between self-reported sight-reading ability for sheet music and performance on passage comprehension - a standardized reading measure that relies on decoding and working memory. This effect was specific to sight reading ability, as other musical variables, such as number of years of practice or music theory, were not related to performance on this reading measure. Surprisingly, the verbal working memory ability we tested did not mediate this relationship. To determine whether there is a genetic component to these skills, we compared these relationships in pairs of monozygotic twins compared to dizygotic twins. Interestingly, intraclass correlations (ICCs) for sight reading and passage comprehension were both higher in monozygotic twins compared to dizygotic twins, though this effect was larger for passage comprehension than for sight reading. These results together suggest a familial and potentially partially shared inherited mechanism for success in both musical sight-reading ability and passage comprehension.

Music-Evoked Reward and Emotion: Relative Strengths and Response to Intervention of People With ASD

This review presents research findings showing that music is a unique domain to assess perception, reward, emotion, and associated physiological reactions and neural circuitry of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is growing evidence, reported in several studies in this review article, indicating that music is a relative strength of people with ASD including musical pitch perception, musical memory, and identification of music-evoked emotions. Listening to music activates neural circuits of reward and emotion response, which are described. Research presented shows adults with ASD also activate these systems when listening to music, although there may be developmental differences in the physiological and neural response to music in childhood and adolescence alongside typical behavioral response. Nonetheless, studies reviewed lend support to the use of music therapy and education for people with ASD, specifically to improve social skills and communication. Neural correlates of response to music therapy and education are also discussed. Taken together, findings reviewed provide evidence for music as a strength-based approach for ASD to assess reward and emotion response and as a powerful tool for intervention.

Comparing the Effects of Rhythm-Based Music Training and Pitch-Based Music Training on Executive Functions in Preschoolers

Previous research has indicated the beneficial effects of music training on executive functions (EFs) in children. However, researchers have not clearly determined which component of music training produces these beneficial effects or whether different components exert different effects on EFs. In the present study, we examined the impact of rhythm-based music training compared to pitch-based music training and sports training as a control on EFs in preschoolers. Children aged between 5 and 6 years (N = 76) were randomly assigned to one of the three training groups and received training in small groups three times a week for 20 min in German kindergartens. Before and after training, children completed tests designed to assess inhibition, set-shifting, and visuospatial working memory. Parental education, family income, personality, and IQ served as control variables. We observed a significant training group × time interaction for the measure of inhibition. Children from the rhythm group exhibited significant improvements in inhibition from pre- to post-tests (d_RM = 0.56), whereas children from the other groups did not. Furthermore, children from the rhythm group significantly differed from the sports control group at post-test (d_corr = 0.82). Concerning the measures of set-shifting and visuospatial working memory, the descriptive data revealed similar results; however, we did not observe significant training group × time interactions. Based on our findings, rhythm-based music training specifically enhances inhibition in preschoolers and might affect other EFs, such as set-shifting and visuospatial working memory.

Auditory Stimulation Training With Technically Manipulated Musical Material in Preschool Children With Specific Language Impairments: An Explorative Study

Auditory stimulation training (AST) has been proposed as a potential treatment for children with specific language impairments (SLI). The current study was designed to test this assumption by using an AST with technically modulated musical material (ASTM) in a randomized control group design. A total of 101 preschool children (62 male, 39 females; mean age = 4.52 years, SD = 0.62) with deficits in speech comprehension and poor working memory capacity were randomly allocated into one of two treatment groups or a control group. Children in the ASTM group (n = 40) received three 30-min sessions per week over 12 weeks, whereas children in the comparison group received pedagogical activities during these intervals (n = 24). Children in the control group (n = 37) received no treatment. Working memory, phoneme discrimination and speech perception skills were tested prior to (baseline) and after treatment. Children in the ASTM group showed significantly greater working memory capacity, speech perception, and phoneme discrimination skills after treatment, whereas children in the other groups did not show such improvement. Taken together, these results suggest that ASTM can enhance auditory cognitive performance in children with SLI.

Validation of the Egyptian Arabic Assessment of Auditory Skills development using children with Cochlear Implants

INTRODUCTION

Audition is the gateway to spoken language, and infants' early accomplishments in acquiring the sound structure of their native language lays a critical ground work for subsequent learning. The development of pre-lingual auditory perceptual skills for cochlear implanted children is crucial for initial development of oral language.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of the present study were to validate the Egyptian Arabic Assessment of Auditory Skills, and to track the development of auditory skills in Egyptian children fitted with CI during the first three years post implantation.

METHODS

The study included 90 Arabic Egyptian children attending the phoniatric unit, Kasr El Aini hospital. Their chronological age ranged from 36 to 72 months. The study lasted for 18 months from July 2015 to January 2017. The children were divided into six groups according to their cochlear age i.e., amount of implant experience. An Arabic assessment chart of auditory skills was tailored that included six auditory skills' domains; detection, identification, short term auditory memory, supra-segmental discrimination, segmental discrimination and linguistic auditory processing. This chart was then used to develop an assessment tool which was then applied to all the study participants. All children had bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) since birth. None of the participants had prior Cochlear Implant (CI), but all had tried conventional hearing aids. All participants were implanted unilateral, with CI devices. All met selection criteria applied in the Egyptian national insurance committee for cochlear implantation.

RESULTS

All auditory skills domains improved with cochlear age. There was significant improvement between 1-6 and 7-12 months in the scores of the Detection (DET) domain. There was significant difference between 1-6 and 7-12 months, 7-12 and 13-18 months, 19-24 and 25-30 months in the scores of the Identification (IDENT) domain. Regarding the Short Term Auditory Memory (STAM) domain scores and the Supra-segmental Discrimination (SSD) domain scores there was significant difference between all the groups. Regarding the Segmental Discrimination (SGD) domain scores, there was significant difference between group 1-6 and 7-12 months, 7-12 and 13-18 months, 19-24 and 25-30 months, 25-30 and 31-36 months. Regarding the Linguistic Auditory Processing (LAP) domain, there was significant difference between group 1-6 and 7-12 months, 7-12 and 13-18 months, 25-30 and 31-36 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Children fitted with Cochlear Implants (CIs) appeared to show improvement in acquisition of auditory skills over a period of three years that followed a hierarchy of development dependent on the cochlear age.

Musical Instrument Practice Predicts White Matter Microstructure and Cognitive Abilities in Childhood

Musical training has been associated with advantages in cognitive measures of IQ and verbal ability, as well as neural measures including white matter microstructural properties in the corpus callosum (CC) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We hypothesized that children who have musical training will have different microstructural properties in the SLF and CC. One hundred children aged 7.9-9.9 years (mean age 8.7) were surveyed for their musical activities, completed neuropsychological testing for general cognitive abilities, and underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as part of a larger study. Children who play a musical instrument for more than 0.5 h per week (n = 34) had higher scores on verbal ability and intellectual ability (standardized scores from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities), as well as higher axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF than those who did not play a musical instrument (n = 66). Furthermore, the intensity of musical practice, quantified as the number of hours of music practice per week, was correlated with axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF. Results are not explained by age, sex, socio-economic status, or physical fitness of the participants. The results suggest that the relationship between musical practice and intellectual ability is related to the maturation of white matter pathways in the auditory-motor system. The findings suggest that musical training may be a means of improving cognitive and brain health during development.

Beliefs and Values About Music in Early Childhood Education and Care: Perspectives From Practitioners

This paper reports the findings of a study that aimed to identify the music beliefs and values of educators in early childhood education and care settings in Australia. The aims of the study were 2-fold: to adapt and pilot a survey of music beliefs and values which might be implemented subsequently nationally in childcare settings; and, secondly, to identify the music beliefs and values held by early childhood and care educators concerning music in children's learning. The research questions that guided this component of the study were: What is the profile of early childhood and care educators? What beliefs and values for music engagement are held by early childhood and care educators? What shapes early childhood and care educators' music beliefs and values? Findings indicated that educators' beliefs and values on all items are above the mid-point indicating overall positive attitudes toward music despite the majority having no formal qualifications in music or a history of instrumental performance and/or singing. Given the overall positive attitudes toward music we suggest there is enormous potential within this population for further professional learning and development targeted at music and its potential wider benefits in young children's learning and lives.

Orff-Based Music Training Enhances Children's Manual Dexterity and Bimanual Coordination

How music training and expertise influence non-musical abilities is a widely researched topic. Most studies focus on the differences between adult professional musicians and non-musicians, or examine the effects of intensive instrumental training in childhood. However, the impact of music programs developed in regular school contexts for children from low-income communities is poorly explored. We conducted a longitudinal training study in such communities to examine if collective (Orff-based) music training enhances fine motor abilities, when compared to a homologous training program in sports (basketball), and to no specific training. The training programs in music and sports had the same duration, 24 weeks, and were homologous in structure. A pre-test, training, post-test and follow-up design was adopted. Children attending the 3rd grade (n = 74, 40 girls; mean age 8.31 years) were pseudorandomly divided into three groups, music, sports and control that were matched on demographic and intellectual characteristics. Fine motor abilities were assessed with the Purdue pegboard test (eye-hand coordination and motor speed, both subsumed under manual dexterity, and bimanual coordination) and with the Grooved pegboard (manipulative dexterity) test. All groups improved in manipulative dexterity that was not affected by type of training. On bimanual coordination and manual dexterity, however, a robust and stable advantage of music training emerged. At the end of training (post-test), children from the music group significantly outperformed children from the sports and control groups, an advantage that persisted at follow-up 4 months after training at the start of the following school year. Also, at follow-up none of the children from the music group were performing below the 20th percentile in the Purdue pegboard subtests and more than half were performing at the high end level (>80th percentile). Children from the sports group also improved significantly from pre- to post-test but their performance was not significantly different from that of the control group. These results show that an affordable, collective-based music practice impacts positively on fine-motor abilities, a finding that is relevant for a better understanding of the impact of music in childhood development, and that may have implications for education at the primary grade.

Combining Song-And Speech-Based Language Teaching: An Intervention With Recently Migrated Children

There is growing evidence that singing can have a positive effect on language learning, but few studies have explored its benefit for children who have recently migrated to a new country. In the present study, recently migrated children (N = 35) received three 40-min sessions where all students learnt the lyrics of two songs designed to simulate language learning through alternating teaching modalities (singing and speaking). Children improved their language knowledge significantly including on tasks targeting the transfer of grammatical skills, an area largely neglected in previous studies. This improvement was sustainable over the retention interval. However, the two teaching modalities did not show differential effects on cued recall of song lyrics indicating that singing and speaking are equally effective when used in combination with one another. Taken together, the data suggest that singing may be useful as an additional teaching strategy, irrespective of initial language proficiency, warranting more research on songs as a supplement for grammar instruction.

Sex Differences in Salivary Oxytocin and Cortisol Concentration Changes during Cooking in a Small Group

Background: Oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide, has positive effects on social and emotional processes during group activities. Because cooking is an integrated process in the cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional areas, cooking in a group is reported to improve emotion and cognition. However, evidence for efficacy in group cooking has not been well established at the biological level. Methods: To address this shortcoming, we first measured salivary levels of OT and cortisol (CORT), a biomarker of psychological stress, before and after group cooking for approximately 1 h by people who know each other in healthy married or unmarried men and women. We then compared the initial OT and CORT concentrations with those during individual non-cooking activities in isolation. Results: Baseline OT concentrations before group and non-group sessions did not significantly differ and OT levels increased after both types of activity in men and women. In men, however, the percentage changes of OT levels in the first over the second saliva samples were significantly small during cooking compared with those in individual activities. In women, however, such a difference was not observed. In contrast, the mean salivary CORT concentrations after group cooking were significantly decreased from the baseline level in both sexes, though such decreases were not significant after individual activity sessions. The sex-specific differences were marital-status independent. Conclusion: These results indicate that OT and CORT concentrations after two activity sessions by a familiar group changed in opposite directions in a sex-specific manner. This suggests that, because cooking is experience-based, we need to consider the sex-specific features of group cooking if we apply it for intervention.

The association between singing and/or playing a musical instrument and cognitive functions in older adults

OBJECTIVES

Cognitive decline happens to everyone when aging, but to some more than others. Studies with children, adults, and professional musicians suggest that making music could be associated with better cognitive functioning. In older adults however, this association is less well investigated, which is therefore the aim of this study.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study data from 1101 participants aged 64 and older from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to test the association between making music and cognitive functioning and time spent making music and cognitive functioning. ANCOVA analyses were performed to differentiate between participants who made no music, only sang, only played an instrument or both sang and played an instrument in terms of cognitive functioning.

RESULTS

Making music was significantly positively associated with letter fluency, learning and attention/short-term memory. Time spent making music yielded no significant results. The ANCOVA analyses showed higher scores for participants who only played an instrument compared to participants who made no music on learning, working memory and processing speed. For processing speed the instrument only group also had a higher score than participants who only sang.

DISCUSSION

Making music at least once every two weeks and especially playing a musical instrument, is associated with better attention, episodic memory and executive functions. The results suggest that making music might be a potential protective factor for cognitive decline; however, to support this notion a longitudinal study design is needed.

Music playschool enhances children's linguistic skills

Several studies have suggested that intensive musical training enhances children's linguistic skills. Such training, however, is not available to all children. We studied in a community setting whether a low-cost, weekly music playschool provided to 5-6-year-old children in kindergartens could already affect their linguistic abilities. Children (N = 66) were tested four times over two school-years with Phoneme processing and Vocabulary subtests, along with tests for Perceptual reasoning skills and Inhibitory control. We compared the development of music playschool children to their peers either attending to similarly organized dance lessons or not attending to either activity. Music playschool significantly improved the development of children's phoneme processing and vocabulary skills. No such improvements on children's scores for non-verbal reasoning and inhibition were obtained. Our data suggest that even playful group music activities - if attended to for several years - have a positive effect on pre-schoolers' linguistic skills. Therefore we promote the concept of implementing regular music playschool lessons given by professional teachers in early childhood education.

Musical training, bilingualism, and executive function: working memory and inhibitory control

The current study investigated whether long-term experience in music or a second language is associated with enhanced cognitive functioning. Early studies suggested the possibility of a cognitive advantage from musical training and bilingualism but have failed to be replicated by recent findings. Further, each form of expertise has been independently investigated leaving it unclear whether any benefits are specifically caused by each skill or are a result of skill learning in general.

To assess whether cognitive benefits from training exist, and how unique they are to each training domain, the current study compared musicians and bilinguals to each other, plus to individuals who had expertise in both skills, or neither. Young adults (n = 153) were categorized into one of four groups: monolingual musician; bilingual musician; bilingual non-musician; and monolingual non-musician. Multiple tasks per cognitive ability were used to examine the coherency of any training effects. Results revealed that musically trained individuals, but not bilinguals, had enhanced working memory. Neither skill had enhanced inhibitory control.

The findings confirm previous associations between musicians and improved cognition and extend existing evidence to show that benefits are narrower than expected but can be uniquely attributed to music compared to another specialized auditory skill domain. The null bilingual effect despite a music effect in the same group of individuals challenges the proposition that young adults are at a performance ceiling and adds to increasing evidence on the lack of a bilingual advantage on cognition.

Improved Digit Span in Children after a 6-Week Intervention of Playing a Musical Instrument: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial

Previous studies have reported that music training not only improves children's musical skills, but also enhances their cognitive functions. However, there is a disagreement about what domain(s) might be affected. Moreover, effects of short-term (<several months) instrumental training have not been examined, although more basic studies have suggested neuroplasticity within several weeks. Consequently, the present exploratory pilot study investigated the effect of a six-week instrumental practice program (i.e., playing the keyboard harmonica) on children's cognitive functions using a randomized controlled trial. Forty children (aged 6–8 years) were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 20), which received a 6-week (12-session) keyboard harmonica curriculum, or an untrained control group (n = 20). Different from traditional instrumental training, the curriculum did not use musical scores to emphasize creating association between sound (auditory modality) and finger movement (somato-motor system). Cognitive measurements included verbal ability, processing speed, working memory, and inhibitory control, which were administered before and after the curriculum in both groups. After the 6-week training, only the experimental group showed a significant improvement in the Digit Span test (especially in the Digit Span Backward) that measures working memory. However, no significant influences were found on the other cognitive tests. The result suggests that several weeks of instrumental music training may be beneficial to improving children's working memory. In addition, we used an inexpensive and portable keyboard harmonica; therefore, our instructional method is easy to apply in classrooms or other circumstances. If the method is applied to music lessons in schools or in the community, it may help improve children's working memory.

Musicians have better memory than nonmusicians: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Several studies have found that musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks, but this is not always the case, and the strength of this apparent advantage is unknown. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis with the aim of clarifying whether musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks.

METHODS

Education Source; PEP (WEB)-Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing; Psychology and Behavioral Science (EBSCO); PsycINFO (Ovid); PubMed; ScienceDirect-AllBooks Content (Elsevier API); SCOPUS (Elsevier API); SocINDEX with Full Text (EBSCO) and Google Scholar were searched for eligible studies. The selected studies involved two groups of participants: young adult musicians and nonmusicians. All the studies included memory tasks (loading long-term, short-term or working memory) that contained tonal, verbal or visuospatial stimuli. Three meta-analyses were run separately for long-term memory, short-term memory and working memory.

RESULTS

We collected 29 studies, including 53 memory tasks. The results showed that musicians performed better than nonmusicians in terms of long-term memory, g = .29, 95% CI (.08-.51), short-term memory, g = .57, 95% CI (.41-.73), and working memory, g = .56, 95% CI (.33-.80). To further explore the data, we included a moderator (the type of stimulus presented, i.e., tonal, verbal or visuospatial), which was found to influence the effect size for short-term and working memory, but not for long-term memory. In terms of short-term and working memory, the musicians' advantage was large with tonal stimuli, moderate with verbal stimuli, and small or null with visuospatial stimuli.

CONCLUSIONS

The three meta-analyses revealed a small effect size for long-term memory, and a medium effect size for short-term and working memory, suggesting that musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks. Moreover, the effect of the moderator suggested that, the type of stimuli influences this advantage.

Music Interventions and Child Development: A Critical Review and Further Directions

Research on the impact of music interventions has indicated positive effects on a variety of skills. These findings suggest musical interventions may have further potential to support educational processes and development of children. This paper reviews the latest evidence on the effect of musical interventions on the development of primary school-aged children. Four electronic databases were searched from January 2010 through June 2016 using music, music instruction, music education, music lesson, music training, development, child, student, and pupil as key words for the search. Two reviewers independently evaluated the studies to determine whether they met the stated inclusion criteria. Studies were compared on study setup, methodological quality, intervention components, outcome variables, and efficacy. A review of these selected studies (n = 46) suggestive beneficial effects of music intervention on development of children, although clear conclusions cannot be drawn. Possible influencing factors that might contribute to the outcome of intervention are reviewed and recommendations for further research are made.

Neuroenhancement of Memory for Children with Autism by a Mind-Body Exercise

The memory deficits found in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by the lack of an effective strategy to aid memory. The executive control of memory processing is mediated largely by the timely coupling between frontal and posterior brain regions. The present study aimed to explore the potential effect of a Chinese mind–body exercise, namely Nei Gong, for enhancing learning and memory in children with ASD, and the possible neural basis of the improvement. Sixty-six children with ASD were randomly assigned to groups receiving Nei Gong training (NGT), progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) training, or no training for 1 month. Before and after training, the participants were tested individually on a computerized visual memory task while EEG signals were acquired during the memory encoding phase. Children in the NGT group demonstrated significantly enhanced memory performance and more effective use of a memory strategy, which was not observed in the other two groups. Furthermore, the improved memory after NGT was consistent with findings of elevated EEG theta coherence between frontal and posterior brain regions, a measure of functional coupling. The scalp EEG signals were localized by the standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography method and found to originate from a neural network that promotes effective memory processing, including the prefrontal cortex, the parietal cortex, and the medial and inferior temporal cortex. This alteration in neural processing was not found in children receiving PMR or in those who received no training. The present findings suggest that the mind–body exercise program may have the potential effect on modulating neural functional connectivity underlying memory processing and hence enhance memory functions in individuals with autism.

The effect of listening to music on human transcriptome

Although brain imaging studies have demonstrated that listening to music alters human brain structure and function, the molecular mechanisms mediating those effects remain unknown. With the advent of genomics and bioinformatics approaches, these effects of music can now be studied in a more detailed fashion. To verify whether listening to classical music has any effect on human transcriptome, we performed genome-wide transcriptional profiling from the peripheral blood of participants after listening to classical music (n = 48), and after a control study without music exposure (n = 15). As musical experience is known to influence the responses to music, we compared the transcriptional responses of musically experienced and inexperienced participants separately with those of the controls. Comparisons were made based on two subphenotypes of musical experience: musical aptitude and music education. In musically experiencd participants, we observed the differential expression of 45 genes (27 up- and 18 down-regulated) and 97 genes (75 up- and 22 down-regulated) respectively based on subphenotype comparisons (rank product non-parametric statistics, pfp 0.05, >1.2-fold change over time across conditions). Gene ontological overrepresentation analysis (hypergeometric test, FDR < 0.05) revealed that the up-regulated genes are primarily known to be involved in the secretion and transport of dopamine, neuron projection, protein sumoylation, long-term potentiation and dephosphorylation. Down-regulated genes are known to be involved in ATP synthase-coupled proton transport, cytolysis, and positive regulation of caspase, peptidase and endopeptidase activities. One of the most up-regulated genes, alpha-synuclein (SNCA), is located in the best linkage region of musical aptitude on chromosome 4q22.1 and is regulated by GATA2, which is known to be associated with musical aptitude. Several genes reported to regulate song perception and production in songbirds displayed altered activities, suggesting a possible evolutionary conservation of sound perception between species. We observed no significant findings in musically inexperienced participants.

Music lessons are associated with increased verbal memory in individuals with Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder characterized by intellectual delay and an affinity for music. It has been previously shown that familiar music can enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS who have had music training. There is also evidence that unfamiliar, or novel, music may also improve cognitive recall. This study was designed to examine if a novel melody could also enhance verbal memory in individuals with WS, and to more fully characterize music training in this population. We presented spoken or sung sentences that described an animal and its group name to 44 individuals with WS, and then tested their immediate and delayed memory using both recall and multiple choice formats. Those with formal music training (average duration of training 4½ years) scored significantly higher on both the spoken and sung recall items, as well as on the spoken multiple choice items, than those with no music training. Music therapy, music enjoyment, age, and Verbal IQ did not impact performance on the memory tasks. These findings provide further evidence that formal music lessons may impact the neurological pathways associated with verbal memory in individuals with WS, consistent with findings in typically developing individuals.

Effects of arginine vasopressin on musical working memory

Previous genetic studies showed an association between variations in the gene coding for the 1a receptor of the neuro-hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) and musical working memory (WM). The current study set out to test the influence of intranasal administration (INA) of AVP on musical as compared to verbal WM using a double blind crossover (AVP—placebo) design. Two groups of 25 males were exposed to 20 IU of AVP in one session, and 20 IU of saline water (placebo) in a second session, 1 week apart. In each session subjects completed the tonal subtest from Gordon's “Musical Aptitude Profile,” the interval subtest from the “Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusias (MBEA),” and the forward and backward digit span tests. Scores in the digit span tests were not influenced by AVP. In contrast, in the music tests there was an AVP effect. In the MBEA test, scores for the group receiving placebo in the first session (PV) were higher than for the group receiving vasopressin in the first session (VP) (p < 0.05) with no main Session effect nor Group × Session interaction. In the Gordon test there was a main Session effect (p < 0.05) with scores higher in the second as compared to the first session, a marginal main Group effect (p = 0.093) and a marginal Group × Session interaction (p = 0.88). In addition we found that the group that received AVP in the first session scored higher on scales indicative of happiness, and alertness on the positive and negative affect scale, (PANAS). Only in this group and only in the music test these scores were significantly correlated with memory scores. Together the results reflect a complex interaction between AVP, musical memory, arousal, and contextual effects such as session, and base levels of memory. The results are interpreted in light of music's universal use as a means to modulate arousal on the one hand, and AVP's influence on mood, arousal, and social interactions on the other.

Musical experience, auditory perception and reading-related skills in children

BACKGROUND

The relationships between auditory processing and reading-related skills remain poorly understood despite intensive research. Here we focus on the potential role of musical experience as a confounding factor. Specifically we ask whether the pattern of correlations between auditory and reading related skills differ between children with different amounts of musical experience.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Third grade children with various degrees of musical experience were tested on a battery of auditory processing and reading related tasks. Very poor auditory thresholds and poor memory skills were abundant only among children with no musical education. In this population, indices of auditory processing (frequency and interval discrimination thresholds) were significantly correlated with and accounted for up to 13% of the variance in reading related skills. Among children with more than one year of musical training, auditory processing indices were better, yet reading related skills were not correlated with them. A potential interpretation for the reduction in the correlations might be that auditory and reading-related skills improve at different rates as a function of musical training.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Participants' previous musical training, which is typically ignored in studies assessing the relations between auditory and reading related skills, should be considered. Very poor auditory and memory skills are rare among children with even a short period of musical training, suggesting musical training could have an impact on both. The lack of correlation in the musically trained population suggests that a short period of musical training does not enhance reading related skills of individuals with within-normal auditory processing skills. Further studies are required to determine whether the associations between musical training, auditory processing and memory are indeed causal or whether children with poor auditory and memory skills are less likely to study music and if so, why this is the case.

Can nonlinguistic musical training change the way the brain processes speech? The expanded OPERA hypothesis

A growing body of research suggests that musical training has a beneficial impact on speech processing (e.g., hearing of speech in noise and prosody perception). As this research moves forward two key questions need to be addressed: 1) Can purely instrumental musical training have such effects? 2) If so, how and why would such effects occur? The current paper offers a conceptual framework for understanding such effects based on mechanisms of neural plasticity. The expanded OPERA hypothesis proposes that when music and speech share sensory or cognitive processing mechanisms in the brain, and music places higher demands on these mechanisms than speech does, this sets the stage for musical training to enhance speech processing. When these higher demands are combined with the emotional rewards of music, the frequent repetition that musical training engenders, and the focused attention that it requires, neural plasticity is activated and makes lasting changes in brain structure and function which impact speech processing. Initial data from a new study motivated by the OPERA hypothesis is presented, focusing on the impact of musical training on speech perception in cochlear-implant users. Suggestions for the development of animal models to test OPERA are also presented, to help motivate neurophysiological studies of how auditory training using non-biological sounds can impact the brain's perceptual processing of species-specific vocalizations. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled <Music: A window into the hearing brain>.

Music training, cognition, and personality

Although most studies that examined associations between music training and cognitive abilities had correlational designs, the prevailing bias is that music training causes improvements in cognition. It is also possible, however, that high-functioning children are more likely than other children to take music lessons, and that they also differ in personality. We asked whether individual differences in cognition and personality predict who takes music lessons and for how long. The participants were 118 adults (Study 1) and 167 10- to 12-year-old children (Study 2). We collected demographic information and measured cognitive ability and the Big Five personality dimensions. As in previous research, cognitive ability was associated with musical involvement even when demographic variables were controlled statistically. Novel findings indicated that personality was associated with musical involvement when demographics and cognitive ability were held constant, and that openness-to-experience was the personality dimension with the best predictive power. These findings reveal that: (1) individual differences influence who takes music lessons and for how long, (2) personality variables are at least as good as cognitive variables at predicting music training, and (3) future correlational studies of links between music training and non-musical ability should account for individual differences in personality.