|
USA Today,
November 17, 2005
People who
learned to play musical instruments as children process spoken language
faster and more accurately than their non-musical counterparts as adults,
according to a Stanford University study.
Researchers hope the findings, presented Wednesday at the annual meeting
of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C., will help children
with reading problems, such as dyslexia.
The study, based on research performed in 2004 at Stanford, shows that
musical training can help the brain differentiate between rapidly changing
sounds, an ability that is key to understanding and using language
effectively, researchers said.
"What this study shows, that's novel, is that there's a specific aspect of
language ... that's changed in the minds and brains of people with musical
training," said John Gabrieli, a former Stanford psychology professor now
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Researchers used adults ranging in age from 28 to 40 and divided them into
groups of musicians and non-musicians, then matched them by age, sex,
intelligence and general language ability.
The musicians were required to have started playing an instrument before
they turned 7 years old and to never have stopped.
Researchers played tones of different pitches in rapid succession and
asked participants to distinguish between them. Scans showed that the
musicians' brain activity was more focused and efficient than their
non-musical counterparts.
Participants were also asked to rapidly differentiate between similar word
syllables, which the musicians did with more accuracy and speed than those
without musical training.
Gabrieli said many children who become poor readers have trouble making
auditory distinctions.
Some education observers caution against reading too much into the
findings until it is proven that music training actually improves reading
ability in children.
|
