Slater Jessica, Skoe Erika, Strait Dana L, O'Connell Samantha, Thompson Elaine, Kraus Nina
Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic address: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu.
Behav Brain Res. 2015 Sep 15;291:244-252. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.05.026. Epub 2015 May 22.
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.
音乐训练可能会增强听觉技能，这不仅有助于儿童进行音乐表演，还对日常交流有帮助。对不同年龄段的音乐家和非音乐家进行比较，为“音乐家优势”提供了一些证据，即在嘈杂环境中理解言语方面，但研究结果并不一致。进行对照纵向研究对于区分训练效果与先天差异至关重要，同时也能确定需要多少音乐训练才能带来益处。我们对一群小学生进行了为期两年的跟踪研究，评估他们在音乐训练前后感知嘈杂环境中言语的能力。在初始评估后，参与者被随机分为两组：一组立即开始音乐训练并完成两年训练，而另一组等待一年后接受一年的音乐训练。研究结果首次提供了纵向证据，表明经过两年的集体音乐训练后，在嘈杂环境中感知言语的能力有所提高。这些孩子参加了一个成熟且成功的社区音乐项目，并遵循标准课程，因此这些发现为基于实验室的研究与音乐训练对日常交流技能影响的现实评估之间提供了重要联系。
