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A Little Goes a Long Way: How the Adult Brain Is Shaped by Musical Training in Childhood

Erika Skoe and Nina Kraus
Journal of Neuroscience 22 August 2012, 32 (34) 11507-11510; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1949-12.2012
Erika Skoe
1Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory,
2Department of Communication Sciences,
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Nina Kraus
1Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory,
2Department of Communication Sciences,
3Institute for Neuroscience,
4Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, and
5Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208
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    Figure 1.

    Music practice during childhood is associated with more robust neural responses to sound in adulthood. For adults with no past musical experience (black), the brainstem frequency-following response is diminished in amplitude (smaller SNRs) relative to adults who started playing a musical instrument around age 9 years and continued to play for either 1–5 (blue) or 6–11 (red) years. A, Frequency-following responses to eight sounds of varying frequency. B, Average SNR across the eight sounds for each group (mean ± 1 SEM). **p < 0.01. C, In the musically trained subjects, there is no correlation between the average SNR and years of music training (r = 0.21, p = 0.26). D, Average SNR did correlate with how recently training occurred (r = −0.41, p = 0.02).

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    Table 1.

    Group characteristics

    GroupAge (in years)IQ (standard score)Starting age (in years)Stopping age* (in years)Total* (in years)Years since music lessons*
    0 years21.67 (3.87)121.47 (9.03)
    1–5 years20.20 (1.47)125.73 (8.55)9.73 (2.09)13.00 (2.07)3.26 (1.16)7.20 (2.73)
    6–11 years20.53 (1.06)127.07 (2.16)8.53 (2.10)17.20 (2.81)8.67 (1.88)3.33 (2.92)
    • Subjects were divided into three groups based on the number of years they played a musical instrument. The mean (SD) age and IQ are reported, in addition to the age at which music lessons started and stopped, the duration of music lessons, and how many years ago music practice ceased.

    • ↵*p < 0.01.

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    Table 2.

    Subjects' musical history

    GroupYears of trainingStarting age (years)Years sinceInstrument
    1–5 years1138Saxophone
    21010Saxophone
    2107Piano
    2127Cello
    378Piano
    3711Piano
    3108Piano
    3116Clarinet
    4613Piano
    486Piano
    488Piano
    4114Viola
    4123Piano
    5105Cello
    5114Clarinet
    6–11 years669Piano, viola
    685Piano, guitar
    767Piano
    768Piano
    7114Harp
    7130Drums, guitar, voice
    8101Trumpet
    9102Flute
    1082Cello
    1083Piano, voice
    1081Piano, guitar
    10110Saxophone, voice
    1174Piano, clarinet, saxophone
    1174Piano, saxophone
    1190Saxophone
    • For each of the musically-trained subjects, the number of years of musical training, the age at which training started, the number of years since training occurred, and the instrument(s) are reported. In cases where multiple instruments are reported, instruments are listed in order of acquisition.

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 32 (34)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 32, Issue 34
22 Aug 2012
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A Little Goes a Long Way: How the Adult Brain Is Shaped by Musical Training in Childhood
Erika Skoe, Nina Kraus
Journal of Neuroscience 22 August 2012, 32 (34) 11507-11510; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1949-12.2012

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A Little Goes a Long Way: How the Adult Brain Is Shaped by Musical Training in Childhood
Erika Skoe, Nina Kraus
Journal of Neuroscience 22 August 2012, 32 (34) 11507-11510; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1949-12.2012
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