Music enrichment programs improve the neural encoding of speech in at-risk children

Abstract

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. We 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. We therefore provide 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.

Keywords: auditory brainstem; community enrichment; development; language; music; neuroplasticity.

Figure 1.

Two years of music training improves the neurophysiological distinction of consonants. Right, Cross-phaseogram difference plots for children in Group 2. After 2 years of training (bottom) these children show a stronger neural distinction of speech, illustrated by the large red swatch. Children who first undergo a control year (left) do not show any year-to-year changes in neurophysiological distinction. Black boxes represent the region of interest for statistical analysis (see Materials and Methods).

Figure 2.

A correlation is observed between hours of music training over the course of the study and change in neurophysiological distinction, with children undergoing more training having a larger improvement in this distinction when controlling for their age. Children from Group 1 (circles) with zero hours of instrumental training did not move beyond group music skills classes due to programmatic constraints and student readiness (see Materials and Methods). The zero line across the y-axis represents no change in neural distinction after training.