The Effect of Music Intervention on Attention in Children: Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Although music has been utilized as a therapeutic tool for children with cognitive impairments, how it improves children's cognitive function remains poorly understood. As a first step toward understanding music's effectiveness and as a means of assessing cognitive function improvement, we focused on attention, which plays an important role in cognitive development, and examined the effect of a music intervention on children's attention. Thirty-five children, aged 6 to 9 years, participated in this study, with data from 29 of the children being included in the analysis. A single 30-minute interactive music intervention was compared with a single 30-minute interactive video game intervention accompanied by computer-generated background music using a within-subjects repeated-measures design. Each intervention was implemented individually. Participants completed a standardized attention assessment, the Test of Everyday Attention for Children, before and after both interventions to assess changes in their attentional skills. The results indicated significant improvement in attention control/switching following the music intervention after controlling for the children's intellectual abilities, while no such changes were observed following the video game intervention. This study provides the first evidence that music interventions may be more effective than video game interventions to improve attention control in children, and furthers our understanding of the importance of music interventions for children with attention control problems.

Extracurricular music and visual arts activities are related to academic performance improvement in school-aged children

“…According to Winner et al 8 , music learning results in neurological, cognitive, social, and motivational activation, which are areas other than music. A recent study showed that a 30-min intervention of interactively playing music on a musical instrument improved children’s control over attention more than playing video games for the same amount of time 30 . Considering this recent finding, the experience in a music club (i.e., a brass band or choir) may have a similar impact on adolescents, resulting in higher academic performance.…”

Effects of a single bout of mobile action video game play on attentional networks

“…After finishing, they were assigned randomly to either the MAVG or control game group for the intervention session after a short break. Both groups’ participants completed post-intervention ANT 10 min after the intervention in order to minimize any transient effect of heightened arousal levels ( Kasuya-Ueba, Zhao & Toichi, 2020 ; Yu et al, 2020 ; Ishihara et al, 2021 ).…”

Yoga and music intervention reduces inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and oppositional defiant disorder in children’s consumer with comorbid ADHD and ODD

“…Particularly, Pratt et al (1995) demonstrated that background music reduced hyperactive behavior in individuals with ADHD, while Jackson (2003) showcased that music can improve cognitive processes and sensory integration in children with ADHD, as well as that music therapists address these children’s symptoms from multidisciplinary perspectives. Further, Kasuya-Ueba et al (2020) concluded that music therapy has only a short-term effect on attentional control in children. Despite these reports on the positive effects of music interventions on children with ADHD, they also encompass limitations, which are mostly related to their focus: it was placed more on the effects of music interventions on attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in ADHD and less on the effects on children with ODD.…”