Brain on Music Education 109: Another Benefit of Rigorous Music Education in Elementary School: Improved Speech Perception and Processing
Christopher Viereck, PhD, Neurobiologist in residence, Music Empowers Foundation
Hello fellow followers of Music Empowers Foundation. We�re going to jump right into this quarter�s column, which focuses on differences in speech perception and processing between two groups of elementary-aged children �. Each group received active training in either music or painting over two school years. As we always do, let�s explain the study�s design and components, dissect the technical jargon and elaborate on the findings.
Top-line Results
In this very robust study in elementary school children, the researchers found that speech perception and processing ability were greater following twelve months of active music training than twelve months of active painting training. These benefits suggest that music training had increased brain plasticity in the children. Brain plasticity is fundamental to learning and memory.
Implications of the Study
The potential benefits of music training on speech demonstrated in this study reinforce the importance of maintaining a rigorous music program in our elementary schools. With more research, the possibility opens for music therapy to play a role in remediating language-based learning disabilities including dyslexia or those related to cochlear implants. Music training may also enhance children�s ability to learn a foreign language especially those in which variations in pitch and duration are critical.
How were the Results Found?
The researchers focused on pre-attentive processing (explained in the adjacent column). They measured how the brain processed subtle changes (mismatches) to the sound of a specific syllable (�Ba�). Syllables are the building blocks of words. Improvements in their perception and processing may reflect improvements in speech. The subtle changes to the �Ba� syllable included alterations in duration, frequency and phonological quality. Pre-attentive processing was measured at the end of the first and second school years. During these assessments of about 15-20 minutes, children were asked to focus all their attention on a silent movie while the audio containing the syllable variations were played through headphones.
Using electroencephalograms, the researchers monitored the electrical brain activity of the participating children and looked for changes in specific electric waves (called Mismatch Negativity) when the mismatched sounds were played.
Dissecting the Technical Jargon!
Pre-attentive processing is what goes on in the brain in response to stimuli the brain is not focused on (e.g. the sounds presented to the children in this study while as they focused on a silent movie). Pre-attentive processing is sort of like an automatic detection system in the brain. This is an important area of research since changes in pre- attentive processing may be reflective of neuroplasticity.
Electroencephalograms (EEG) have been around since about the 1920�s but with the advent of better technology and software have become much more sophisticated. You may have heard about EEGs in the context of epilepsy, where they are still used today in addition to other diseases. Electrodes (small thin flat pieces of metal �not needles!) placed on the cranium pick up the electric activity from the closest brain area. The EEG generates a distinct pattern of waves at each electrode.
Mismatch Negativity refers to the distinct wave forms that are produced in an EEG when a variant in a pattern of sounds is processed by the brain. For example, if the following sequence was presented to the children in this study: �Ba/Ba/Ba/Ba*/Ba/Ba/Ba/Ba/Ba /Ba*/ Ba/Ba/Ba/...� (Where Ba* represents the syllable played at a different duration or frequency), distinct waveforms would be found in the EEGs of children whose brains had detected a difference.
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain�s ability to �re-wire� itself for the purposes of learning or remembering something new or more complex. This may necessitate the formation of new connections between neurons and/or the severing of existing connections. Remember that the majority of the connections between neurons are not like those within a circuit board. Neuronal connections are characterized by synapses ? very small chemical gaps between axons and dendrites.
Other Useful Details on the Study
There were 12 children in each of the two groups. Over the course of two school years, one received rigorous painting training, the other rigorous music training. At the end of each school year, the children in the painting training exhibited their work while the children receiving music training performed in a concert.
In the first school year, the kids received two 45-minutes lessons per week. In the second year, they received one 45-minute lesson per week. Testing was done after the first and second school years to measure the potential benefits of six and twelve months of training, respectively.
Differences between the two groups in speech perception and processing in favor of music training were found at the end of the second school year. No differences were found after the first school year.
Since this study assessed pre-attentive processing of speech, the children were quizzed on the silent movie they were asked to watch to confirm that this is where their attention was focused.
The researchers made certain that the children in the two groups were balanced based on socioeconomic status and the results of different intelligence test.
The parents of the participating children provided their permission. The researchers also received the approval of the school district�s superintendent.
What is unique about this study is that it was carried out prospectively. While the benefits of music training on speech had previously been reported, many of the studies examined the effects retrospectively. Generally speaking, prospective studies tend to be more rigorous than those carried out retrospectively.
Reference:
- Chobert J., Francois C., Velay J-L., Besson M. Twelve months of Active Musical Training in 8- to 10-Year Old Children Enhances the Preattentive Processing of Syllabic Duration and Voice onset Time. Cerebral Cortex 2012. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs377