Musicians are often reported to have
enhanced neurophysiological functions, especially in the auditory system. Musical training is thought to improve nervous system function
by focusing attention on meaningful acoustic cues, and these improvements in
auditory processing cascade to language and cognitive skills. Correlational
studies have reported musician enhancements in a variety of
populations across the life span. In light of these reports, educators are
considering the potential for co-curricular music
programs to provide auditory-cognitive enrichment to children during critical
developmental years. To date, however, no studies have evaluated biological
changes following participation in existing, successful music education programs.
A new study published in The
Journal of Neuroscience, 3 September 2014
used a randomized control design to investigate whether
community music participation induces a tangible
change in auditory processing. The community music
training was a longstanding and successful program that provides free music instruction to children from underserved backgrounds who
stand at high risk for learning and social problems.
Children
who completed 2 years of music training had a stronger
neurophysiological distinction of stop consonants, a neural mechanism linked to
reading and language skills. One year of training was insufficient to elicit
changes in nervous system function; beyond 1 year, however, greater amounts of
instrumental music training were associated with larger
gains in neural processing.
The
authors report that this is the first direct evidence that community music programs enhance the neural processing of speech in
at-risk children, suggesting that active and repeated engagement with sound
changes neural function.
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