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Schlaug and his colleagues are tracking the children's progress through a series of cognitive and musical tests and through periodic, high-resolution structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI measures regional changes in oxygen concentration levels in the blood, thus indicating which parts of the brain are being used for particular mental tasks. Structural MRI measures regional volume of gray and white matter in the brain. A total of 73 five- to seven-year-old children were enrolled in the study and divided into three groups:

An "Instrumental" group, consisting of 41 children (17 girls and 24 boys) who were just beginning to study piano or a string instrument;

A "Non-instrumental" group, consisting of 14 children (5 girls and 9 boys) who either participate in singing/movement and music theory (fundamentals of music) classes or receive intensive music instruction in school, but do not study or practice a particular instrument; and

A "Basic" music group, consisting of 18 children (8 girls and 10 boys) who receive only one, standard, 30- to 45-minute general music class per week and do not participate in any other musical activities.

So far, baseline data gathered from subjects as they began their various music studies show no behavioral or cognitive differences among the groups. In addition, no structural or functional brain differences have been seen among groups. "This means that it is unlikely that the cognitive and brain differences described in adult musician/non-musician comparisons exist in children before they begin music training," says Schlaug. "Further, these results make it mor
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Contact: Dawn McCoy
dawn@sfn.org
202-462-6688
Society for Neuroscience
10-Nov-2003