Kosokabe Taku, Mizusaki Makoto, Nagaoka Wakako, Honda Miwa, Suzuki Noriyuki, Moriguchi Yusuke
Miyagi University of Education, Sendai, Japan.
Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 22;15(1):26608. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-10984-1.
Play is fundamental to child development, with evidence highlighting its crucial role in enhancing executive function (EF). However, the neural mechanisms underlying play-based cognitive improvements remain poorly understood. Here, we examine how music play influences behavioral performance and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in preschoolers using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In a randomized controlled trial, 57 three-year-olds participated in either an Orff-Schulwerk-based music play program emphasizing creative self-expression (n = 27) or a control program (n = 30). The music play group showed modest improvements in inhibitory control tasks compared to the control group. Notably, fNIRS measurements revealed distinct patterns of neural activation between groups: the control group exhibited increased PFC activation during the post-test, whereas the music play group maintained stable neural activity levels, suggesting enhanced neural efficiency. These findings demonstrate that different types of activities are associated with distinct patterns of behavioral improvement and neural activity changes in young children. These results offer new insights into how play-based interventions shape cognitive and neural development and highlight promising directions for early childhood education programs to foster cognitive development.
玩耍对儿童发展至关重要，有证据表明其在增强执行功能（EF）方面起着关键作用。然而，基于玩耍的认知改善背后的神经机制仍知之甚少。在此，我们使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）研究音乐玩耍如何影响学龄前儿童的行为表现和前额叶皮质（PFC）活动。在一项随机对照试验中，57名三岁儿童参与了基于奥尔夫教学法、强调创造性自我表达的音乐玩耍项目（n = 27）或对照项目（n = 30）。与对照组相比，音乐玩耍组在抑制控制任务方面有适度改善。值得注意的是，fNIRS测量显示两组之间存在不同的神经激活模式：对照组在测试后PFC激活增加，而音乐玩耍组保持稳定的神经活动水平，表明神经效率提高。这些发现表明，不同类型的活动与幼儿行为改善和神经活动变化的不同模式相关。这些结果为基于玩耍的干预如何塑造认知和神经发展提供了新见解，并突出了幼儿教育项目促进认知发展的有前景方向。
