Sing to me, baby: Infants show neural tracking and rhythmic movements to live and dynamic maternal singing

Nguyen, Trinh; Reisner, Susanne; Lueger, Anja; Wass, Samuel V.; Hoehl, Stefanie; Markova, Gabriela

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101313

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Alternatively, other procedures, such as heart rate variability, electroencephalogram, or functional near-infrared spectroscopy, could be more suited to identify the effect of MT on brain functioning. 16,17,51 Future studies should focus on identifying those infants who could benefit from early MT and measuring the effects with a wider array of neurodevelopmental and neurophysiological instruments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, follow-up in later childhood using tools with higher sensitivity and specificity (eg, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition; Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition) may yield different findings. Alternatively, other procedures, such as heart rate variability, electroencephalogram, or functional near-infrared spectroscopy, could be more suited to identify the effect of MT on brain functioning . Future studies should focus on identifying those infants who could benefit from early MT and measuring the effects with a wider array of neurodevelopmental and neurophysiological instruments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…11 Parental voice benefits preterm infant vocalization, 12 and infantdirected singing specifically captures infant attention and promotes expressive vocabulary and regulation. [13][14][15][16][17] Meta-analyses have shown beneficial short-term effects of music therapy (MT) on infant heart rate, respiratory rate, oral feeding volume, and stress level. 18,19 An increasing number of studies describe the role of MT in promoting beneficial neuroplasticity in preterm children, [20][21][22] and recent evidence shows promising short-term neurophysiological outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, early exposure to adult speech in the NICU has been associated with better language and cognitive development at 7 and 18 months in preterm children . Parental voice benefits preterm infant vocalization, and infant-directed singing specifically captures infant attention and promotes expressive vocabulary and regulation . Meta-analyses have shown beneficial short-term effects of music therapy (MT) on infant heart rate, respiratory rate, oral feeding volume, and stress level .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Music Therapy in Infancy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Children

Bieleninik,

Kvestad,

Gold

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportancePreterm children are at risk for neurodevelopment impairments.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of a music therapy (MT) intervention (parent-led, infant-directed singing) for premature children during the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay and/or after hospital discharge on language development at 24 months’ corrected age (CA).Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis predefined secondary analysis followed participants in the LongSTEP (Longitudinal Study of Music Therapy's Effectiveness for Premature Infants and Their Caregivers) randomized clinical trial, which was conducted from August 2018 to April 2022 in 8 NICUs across 5 countries (Argentina, Colombia, Israel, Norway, and Poland) and included clinic follow-up visits and extended interventions after hospital discharge.InterventionParticipants were children born preterm (&lt;35 weeks’ gestation) and their parents. Participants were randomized at enrollment to MT with standard care (SC) or SC alone; they were randomized to MT or SC again at discharge. The MT was parent-led, infant-directed singing tailored to infant responses and supported by a music therapist and was provided 3 times weekly in the NICU and/or in 7 sessions across 6 months after discharge. The SC consisted of early intervention methods of medical, nursing, and social services, without MT.Main Outcome and MeasuresPrimary outcome was language development, as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) language composite score, with the remaining BSID-III composite and subscale scores as the secondary outcomes. Group differences in treatment effects were assessed using linear mixed-effects models using all available data.ResultsOf 206 participants (103 female infants [50%]; mean [SD] GA, 30.5 [2.7] weeks), 51 were randomized to MT and 53 to SC at enrollment; at discharge, 52 were randomized to MT and 50 to SC. A total of 112 (54%) were retained at the 24 months’ CA follow-up. Most participants (79 [70%] to 93 [83%]) had BSID-III scores in the normal range (≥85). Mean differences for the language composite score were −2.36 (95% CI, −12.60 to 7.88; P = .65) for the MT at NICU with postdischarge SC group, 2.65 (95% CI, −7.94 to 13.23; P = .62) for the SC at NICU and postdischarge MT group, and −3.77 (95% CI, −13.97 to 6.43; P = .47) for the MT group at both NICU and postdischarge. There were no significant effects for cognitive or motor development.Conclusions and RelevanceThis secondary analysis did not confirm an effect of parent-led, infant-directed singing on neurodevelopment in preterm children at 24 months’ CA; wide CIs suggest, however, that potential effects cannot be excluded. Future research should determine the MT approaches, implementation time, and duration that are effective in targeting children at risk for neurodevelopmental impairments and introducing broader measurements for changes in brain development.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03564184

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Music Therapy in Infancy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Children

Bieleninik,

Kvestad,

Gold

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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“…Moreover, with the pre-existing data we had at hand, it was not possible to establish a baseline for probing whether infants who move more in silence also show more rhythmic movements while listening to speech. While not all prior studies used such baselines ( Zentner and Eerola, 2010 ; Ilari, 2015 ; Nguyen et al, 2023 ), some indeed used them ( Fujii et al, 2014 ; de l’Etoile et al, 2020 ), and future studies should consider collecting such data. Furthermore, the scope of this research could also be extended to other age groups in future studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infants show systematic rhythmic motor responses while listening to rhythmic speech

Boll-Avetisyan,

Shandala,

Langus

2024

Front. Psychol.

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Rhythm is known to play an important role in infant language acquisition, but few infant language development studies have considered that rhythm is multimodal and shows strong connections between speech and the body. Based on the observation that infants sometimes show rhythmic motor responses when listening to auditory rhythms, the present study asked whether specific rhythm cues (pitch, intensity, or duration) would systematically increase infants’ spontaneous rhythmic body movement, and whether their rhythmic movements would be associated with their speech processing abilities. We used pre-existing experimental and video data of 148 German-learning 7.5- and 9.5-month-old infants tested on their use of rhythm as a cue for speech segmentation. The infants were familiarized with an artificial language featuring syllables alternating in pitch, intensity, duration, or none of these cues. Subsequently, they were tested on their recognition of bisyllables based on perceived rhythm. We annotated infants’ rhythmic movements in the videos, analyzed whether the rhythmic moving durations depended on the perceived rhythmic cue, and correlated them with the speech segmentation performance. The result was that infants’ motor engagement was highest when they heard a duration-based speech rhythm. Moreover, we found an association of the quantity of infants’ rhythmic motor responses and speech segmentation. However, contrary to the predictions, infants who exhibited fewer rhythmic movements showed a more mature performance in speech segmentation. In sum, the present study provides initial exploratory evidence that infants’ spontaneous rhythmic body movements while listening to rhythmic speech are systematic, and may be linked with their language processing. Moreover, the results highlight the need for considering infants’ spontaneous rhythmic body movements as a source of individual differences in infant auditory and speech perception.

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