Music Training and Child Development Study

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Music

In brief

This proposed study aims to provide a definitive answer to whether music training benefits brain development, particularly brain inhibition control circuitry and its related health outcomes using a randomized control trial design. In the study, 114 children between ages 6-8 from Los Angeles will be randomly assigned to a 24-month:(1) community-focused after school music training group focused on a traditional strings curriculum at the Colburn school in Los Angeles (MG) or (2) a control group (CG) after-school program comprising of visual arts, book club, ethnic and cultural studies and theater without specific focus on systematic music training or sports. Imaging data will be collected at before and after the intervention (24 months), behavioral assessments will be conducted before the intervention and yearly afterwards, and mid-intervention evaluations will be performed every six months throughout the study.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05502939

Run by

University of Southern California

People needed

114

Starts

2022-09-11

Expected to finish

2027-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2025-11-13

Who can join

Age: 6 and older, up to 8. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• normal IQ (standard score of >85 in the Abbreviated Wechsler's Scale of Intelligence)
• Living in LA within 2 miles radius of the location of the music and the afterschool programs
• limited resources as defined by the Hollingshead Index cumulative score below 29
• ages 6-8

You may not qualify if…

• current diagnosis of neurological or psychiatric disorders
• prior engagement in formal and systematic music training for more than 6 months
• previous or current diagnosis of severe hearing loss defined as air conduction thresholds greater than 60 dB HL through 8 kHz or- severe vision loss that is not correctable with prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses
• non-removable, non-MRI compatible body parts
• Claustrophobia

Where it is running

• Brain and Creativity Institute — Los Angeles, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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