title: Music training improves speech-in-noise perception: Longitudinal evidence from a community-based music program.
abstract: Music training may strengthen auditory skills that help children not only in musical performance but in everyday communication. Comparisons of musicians and non-musicians across the lifespan have provided some evidence for a "musician advantage" in understanding speech in noise, although reports have been mixed. Controlled longitudinal studies are essential to disentangle effects of training from pre-existing differences, and to determine how much music training is necessary to confer benefits. We followed a cohort of elementary school children for 2 years, assessing their ability to perceive speech in noise before and after musical training. After the initial assessment, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group began music training right away and completed 2 years of training, while the second group waited a year and then received 1 year of music training. Outcomes provide the first longitudinal evidence that speech-in-noise perception improves after 2 years of group music training. The children were enrolled in an established and successful community-based music program and followed the standard curriculum, therefore these findings provide an important link between laboratory-based research and real-world assessment of the impact of music training on everyday communication skills.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skoe
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Dana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Strait
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: nkraus@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kraus
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D009622:Noise; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D011897:Random Allocation; D013060:Speech; D013067:Speech Perception
keywords: Auditory; Education; Learning; Listening; Longitudinal; Music; Speech-in-noise perception