The impact of music training on executive functions in childhood—a systematic review

Abstract

Executive functions are cognitive control processes for regulating attention and behavior and are of enormous importance for child development. Accordingly, it is desirable to find effective interventions to promote executive functions. Research suggests that musical training is an activity that can promote the development of executive functions in childhood. The findings from existing studies, however, appear inconsistent. This systematic literature review aims to shed more light on the influence of musical training on executive functions and to investigate to what extent age of the children, study design, and type and duration of musical training play a role. The results of this work show that the majority of the included studies report an influence of musical training on executive functions. Since most studies measured inhibition, the impact of music training on inhibition is most reliable. However, there are still not enough studies of sufficiently high quality to permit a solid systemization with respect to age and with regard to the type and duration of the musical training.

Participation in intensive orchestral music training does not cause gains in executive functioning, self-perception, or attitudes toward school in young children.

“…Degé and Frischen (2022) conducted a systematic review of experimental and quasiexperimental longitudinal studies testing the effects of a various kinds of music training on a wide variety of executive functions. The authors report that the majority of studies reviewed found an effect on at least one measure of a subcomponent of EF.…”

“…Here we contribute one more study on this topic: a longitudinal experimental randomized study on the impact of 2 years in one of three sites that offered intensive orchestral musical training over first and second grades of elementary school (children of approximately 6–8 years in age). Five of the studies included in the review by Degé and Frischen (2022) also examined the effects of an ensemble instrumental music training, similar to the intervention we study here. Two of these demonstrated no effects: Alemán et al (2017; 6- to 14-year-olds, 12 months of training), the study with the largest sample, and Habibi et al (2018; 6- to 7-year-olds, 2 years of training).…”

“…Research investigating effects of music instruction on executive functioning (EF) has yielded mixed results, relying only on a small and inadequate number of true randomized and controlled experiments (Degé & Frischen, 2022). We report here an experimental study of the effects of 2 years of school-based orchestral music training on young children’s EF, self-perception, and school-liking, all of which showed no effect.…”

Связь Оценки Музыкальных Способностей И Показателей Регуляторных Функций Детей, Посещающих Музыкальные Занятия

“…В то же время стоит отметить, что игра на музыкальном инструменте требует высокого уровня различных компонентов регуляторных функций, таких как торможение, избирательное внимание и когнитивная гибкость (Degé & Frischen, 2022;Okada & Slevc, 2018;Holochwost et al, 2017). Например, навыки торможения требуются, когда меняются тональность или ритм, и музыканту необходимо подавить интенцию оставаться в предыдущей тональности или ритме (Degé & Frischen, 2022).…”

“…В то же время стоит отметить, что игра на музыкальном инструменте требует высокого уровня различных компонентов регуляторных функций, таких как торможение, избирательное внимание и когнитивная гибкость (Degé & Frischen, 2022;Okada & Slevc, 2018;Holochwost et al, 2017). Например, навыки торможения требуются, когда меняются тональность или ритм, и музыканту необходимо подавить интенцию оставаться в предыдущей тональности или ритме (Degé & Frischen, 2022). Кроме того, музыкант должен считывать ноты и переводить их в звуки, в то же время слушать исполняемую мелодию и анализировать ее на предмет ошибок, скорости и громкости, что тоже безусловно требует достаточного уровня развития регуляторных функций (Slevc et al, 2016).…”