Mental Health: Music for the Mind
Column Author: Trent Myers, MD | Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
Column Editor: Theodore Brisimitzakis, DO | Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
Most of us had some musical training in elementary school – remember the recorder? Some may have even continued their musical training into secondary or post-secondary education. However, does this early musical training provide cognitive benefits to the point that we should recommend it to our patients? How can we know when recommending active music participation may benefit a child versus when music training might not be best for a child? This article aims to answer that question, and to discuss the science behind musical training as well as its impact on brain development.
Cognitive and Developmental Benefits of Musical Training:
Most human beings stand to gain quite a lot from musical training at an early age. Research increasingly shows impactful neurological and cognitive benefits of early music education, especially in neuroplasticity and brain connectivity, when the training occurs prior to ages 7 to 8. Studies comparing the brains of musicians and non-musicians have shown the following impacts from early musical training:
- Enlargement of the corpus callosum – improving communication between the two hemispheres.
- Increased gray matter in the prefrontal, motor, auditory and visuospatial areas of the cerebral cortex.
- Increased blood flow in the basal ganglia, hippocampus and cerebellum – structures involved in motor skills, memory and coordination.
Functionally, these brain changes can lead to improved motor coordination and auditory processing, as well as enhanced linguistic abilities and phonemic awareness, which are crucial for effective reading and communication. These brain changes can also improve memory, critical thinking and mathematical reasoning skills. Studies also show a correlation between musical training and improved spatial-temporal reasoning, a crucial skill for subjects like geometry, physics and engineering.
Emotional and Social Benefits of Musical Training
Listening to music is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to influence our emotions. In turn, musical training can enhance a child’s emotional regulation and social development. Active creation of music with a group can foster teamwork and communication skills. Playing or listening to music can provide an outlet for a child’s emotional expression and stress reduction. Musical training can also encourage self-discipline, patience and perseverance.
Clinical Applications:
Considering all these cognitive, social and emotional benefits from music, the following question arises – Should we encourage musical involvement in children for brain health the same way we encourage an active lifestyle for physical health? As I teach a course on this topic to University of Missouri-Kansas City medical students, I am fairly convinced that we should. However, just as not all children can adequately participate in gym class, not all children can appropriately participate in music.
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When to Recommend |
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Situation: |
How music involvement may help: |
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Any child who enjoys music and shows interest |
o May provide a wonderful pro-social activity to foster friendships, creativity, joy, and personal fulfillment, as well as all the cognitive benefits described above. o Active involvement in music (band, choir, orchestra, etc.) has been shown to decrease the risk of substance use and anti-social behavior in teens. |
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Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and tic disorders |
o Enhances voluntary focus and sustained attention. o Improves impulse control and self-regulation. o Encourages task persistence and goal-setting. |
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Children with speech and language delays, apraxia of speech, or auditory processing disorder
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o Enhances phonemic awareness (recognizing and manipulating speech sounds). o Strengthens auditory processing and verbal memory. o Encourages rhythmic entrainment, which supports language fluency and prosody. |
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Children with dyslexia and specific learning disabilities |
o Improves pattern recognition and sequencing, which are essential for reading. o Strengthens working memory and processing speed. o Enhances letter-sound correspondence. |
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Children with mild to moderate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) |
o Supports social communication and expressive language development. o Creates avenues for friendships and group involvement through shared interests. o Reduces sensory hypersensitivity by improving auditory processing. o Encourages emotional expression and self-regulation. o Facilitates nonverbal communication skills. |
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Children with anxiety, depression or emotional dysregulation |
o Emotional outlet for self-expression. o Lowers cortisol levels. o Provides avenues for tolerable exposure to anxiety-provoking situations. |
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Children with motor coordination difficulties o Developmental coordination disorder o Cerebral palsy (mild cases) o Dyspraxia
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o Strengthens fine and gross motor coordination. o Enhances bilateral coordination and hand-eye coordination. o Improves rhythmic timing and movement control. |
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When NOT to Recommend |
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Situation: |
Why not? |
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Child shows strong aversion or disinterest |
o Forcing a child into music training when they show significant disinterest or frustration may lead to increased stress, resistance to learning, resentment toward the parent, or negative self-perception. They are not likely to benefit from it if they hate it. |
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Children with severe hearing sensitivities and sensory processing disorders |
o Some children with sensory processing disorders or ASD may find music overwhelming due to their auditory sensitivities. |
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Underlying motor or cognitive delays that may cause significant frustration |
o Some children with severe motor coordination difficulties or cognitive delays may struggle with instrument-based training. o Pediatricians should assess whether the child might benefit more from music therapy or a less structured musical engagement. |
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Overloading a child’s schedule |
o When children are already engaged in multiple extracurricular activities, additional structured commitments could lead to stress or burnout or reduced free play, which is also essential for development. |
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Family or financial constraints |
o Music lessons and instruments can be financially burdensome. If access to quality instruction is limited, it may not be a feasible recommendation for every family. o Alternative options, such as community music programs or school music classes, should be considered. |
References:
- America’s Performing Art: A Study of Choruses, Choral Singers, and their Impact (Chorus Impact Study, Report on Findings). Chorus America; 2003. https://chorusamerica.org/sites/default/files/2003chorstudy.pdf
- Garza-Villarreal EA, Jiang Z, Vuust P, et al. Music reduces pain and increases resting state fMRI BOLD signal amplitude in the left angular gyrus in fibromyalgia patients. Front Psychol. 2015;6:1051. doi:3389/fpsyg.2015.01051
- Harris Interactive poll of high school principals conducted Spring 2006;funded by MENC and NAMM. For more info, contact info@menc2.org
- Ho YC, Cheung MC, Chan A.Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children. Neuropsychology. 2003;12:439-450.
- Lee L, Chang YH, Liang WJ, Huang YC. The effect of music intervention on fetal education via doppler fetal monitor. Children (Basel). 2022;9(6):918. doi:10.3390/children9060918
- Mehr SA, Singh M, York H, Glowacki L, Krasnow MM. Form and function in human song. Curr Biol. 2018;28(3):356-368.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.042
- Johnson CM, Memmott Examination of relationship between participation in school music programs of differing quality and standardized test results. J Res Music Educ. 2006;54(4):293-307.
- Donnay GF, Rankin SK, Lopez-Gonzalez M, Jiradejvong P, Limb CJ. Neural substrates of interactive musical improvisation: an fMRI study of ‘trading fours’ in jazz. PLoS One. 2014;9(2):e88665.
- Sacks O. Alfred A. Knopf; 2007.
- Summary by MENC; Original source: Schellenberg EG. Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychol Sci. 2004;15(8):511-514. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00711.x
- Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report.Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998.
- The Midland Chemist(American Chemical Society) 42, No.1, Feb. 2005.
- McCollum S. The many gifts of music: how music gets inside your kid’s head. The Kennedy Center. Updated January 15, 2020. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/articles-and-how-tos/articles/collections/getting-parents-involved/the-many-gifts-of-music/