Investigating the Effect of One Year of Learning to Play a Musical Instrument on Speech-in-Noise Perception and Phonological Short-Term Memory in 5-to-7-Year-Old Children.

Douglas MacCutcheon,Jeannie van der Linde,Clorinda Panebianco,Christian Füllgrabe,Renata Eccles,Robert Ljung

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02865

Douglas MacCutcheon, Jeannie van der Linde + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02865

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Abstract

The benefits in speech-in-noise perception, language and cognition brought about by extensive musical training in adults and children have been demonstrated in a number of cross-sectional studies. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether one year of school-delivered musical training, consisting of individual and group instrumental classes, was capable of producing advantages for speech-in-noise perception and phonological short-term memory in children tested in a simulated classroom environment. Forty-one children aged 5–7 years at the first measurement point participated in the study and either went to a music-focused or a sport-focused private school with an otherwise equivalent school curriculum. The children’s ability to detect number and color words in noise was measured under a number of conditions including different masker types (speech-shaped noise, single-talker background) and under varying spatial combinations of target and masker (spatially collocated, spatially separated). Additionally, a cognitive factor essential to speech perception, namely phonological short-term memory, was assessed. Findings were unable to confirm that musical training of the frequency and duration administered was associated with a musicians’ advantage for either speech in noise, under any of the masker or spatial conditions tested, or phonological short-term memory.

Highlights

Children receive their education in acoustic environments in which background noise is nearly always present
Many studies have focused on how manipulating the acoustic environment can improve children’s attention to verbal instructions, self-rated ability to cope with noise, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and cognitive performance (DiSarno et al, 2002; Purdy et al, 2009; Dockrell and Shield, 2012; Prodi et al, 2019)
The aim of the present study is to investigate whether musical training can improve individual characteristics of the listener that contribute to speech perception and thereby mitigate speech-intelligibility challenges posed by noise

Summary

Introduction

Children receive their education in acoustic environments in which background noise is nearly always present. Many studies have focused on how manipulating the acoustic environment can improve children’s attention to verbal instructions, self-rated ability to cope with noise, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and cognitive performance (DiSarno et al, 2002; Purdy et al, 2009; Dockrell and Shield, 2012; Prodi et al, 2019). The aim of the present study is to investigate whether musical training can improve individual characteristics of the listener that contribute to speech perception (e.g., auditory, linguistic and cognitive abilities) and thereby mitigate speech-intelligibility challenges posed by noise. A musicians’ advantage for SiN perception has been reported by a number of studies in adults and children (Parbery-Clark et al, 2009; Strait et al, 2012, 2013; Bidelman et al, 2014; Kraus et al, 2014; Slater et al, 2015; Baskent and Gaudrain, 2016). There are a substantial number of studies that failed to find strong evidence in favor of advantages in musicians (Strait et al, 2012; Fuller et al, 2014; Ruggles et al, 2014; Boebinger et al, 2015; Fleming et al, 2019; Zendel et al, 2019)

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