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Learning to sing or play a musical instrument can help disadvantaged children improve their reading skills, US research suggests.

After a year of music lessons, the reading scores of nine and 10-year-olds held steady compared to a dip seen in those who were not taught any music.

Another group of musically-trained children were found to be better at processing sounds and language.

The research is being presented to the American Psychological Association.

We are finding that musical training can alter the nervous system to create a better learner... Dr Nina Kraus, Northwestern University

The research was led by Dr Nina Kraus at Northwestern University and involved hundreds of children at high schools in impoverished areas of Chicago and Los Angeles.

Her research had previously highlighted that learning music could improve the concentration, memory and focus of children in the classroom by improving their neural functions.

But much of the research had focused on the impact of music lessons on relatively affluent children.

In this study, Dr Kraus found that giving children regular group music lessons for five or more hours a week prevented any decline in reading skills, which would normally be expected in poorer areas.

Positive impact

Another group of teenage schoolchildren, from a poor area of Chicago, took part in band practice or choir practice every day at school as part of a music project.

Researchers recorded their brainwaves to assess how they responded to speech sounds.

After two years of musical training, the results showed the musical group was faster and more accurate at distinguishing one sound from another, particularly when there was background noise, compared to a group that did not participate in any musical activity.

Dr Kraus said this showed music could have a positive impact on the brain, which could also help learning, but it was not a quick fix.

"Research has shown that there are differences in the brains of children raised in impoverished environments that affect their ability to learn," he explained.

"While more affluent students do better in school than children from lower income backgrounds, we are finding that musical training can alter the nervous system to create a better learner and help offset this academic gap."

All the children had similar IQs and reading ability at the start of the study.

Dr Kraus said music appeared to remodel the brain to improve the connections between sounds and meaning, the process by which babies learn to speak.

Children growing up in poorer areas with poorly-educated mothers are more likely to have 'noisier brains', she said.

This is because they are less likely to know and recognise a wide range of words and are therefore less able to respond to sounds and language.

"Music automatically sharpens the nervous system's response to sounds," Dr Kraus explained.

The children participating in the study were part of the Harmony Project, which provides instruments and free music tuition for American schoolchildren in certain deprived urban areas.

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贫困地区孩子的阅读水平普遍较低，这在一定程度上造成了教育的差距。但有研究提出，定期上音乐课能提高大脑的阅读能力和对声音的反应能力。在美国，有研究表明学习歌唱或乐器能帮助贫困的孩子们提高阅读技能。“美国心理学协会”（American Psychological Association）上的一篇论文表明，与那些没有接受过音乐教育的同龄人相比，在上过一年音乐课后，9-10岁的孩子们阅读能力均有稳步提升。

而在另一群受过音乐教育的孩子身上，研究人员也发现他们能够更好地处理声音和语言。我们发现学习音乐可以改变中枢神经系统从而建立更好的学习模式。该项研究由西北大学的Nina Kraus博士发起，数以百计来自芝加哥和洛杉矶贫困地区高中的孩子们参与了该研究。她的早期研究就已经表明学习音乐可以提高儿童上课时的注意力和记忆力，因为其可以改善神经功能。但是大部分的研究仅局限于家庭相对富裕的儿童，而非贫苦的孩子们。在研究过程中，Kraus博士发现组织孩子们每周定期上5小时以上的音乐课就可以预防其阅读技能的减退，而这正是贫困地区人们所期望的。

作为音乐项目的一部分，另一组来自芝加哥贫困地区的青少年学生，每天在学校参加乐队训练或唱诗班训练。研究人员记录了他们的脑电波来评估他们对声音的反应。研究表明，学习音乐和阅读水平的提高有一定的关系。研究结果表明，与没有参加任何音乐活动的对照组相比，经过为期两年的音乐训练后的音乐组能更快更准确的从嘈杂的背景中鉴别不同的声音。Kraus博士说，该研究表明音乐对大脑的学习功能有积极的影响，但是这是一个长期的过程。“研究显示，贫困地区的孩子大脑与他人有些差异，而这影响了他们的学习能力。”他解释说。“尽管富家子弟表现更为优异，但是音乐训练可以改变神经系统，从而弥补教育差异。”毕竟孩子的智力、阅读能力都在同一起跑线上。所有的孩子在刚上学时智商和阅读能力都差不多。Kraus博士说，音乐似乎能重塑大脑，加强语音和语义之间的联系，而这一过程就是婴幼儿学说话的过程。在贫困地区长大且母亲学历低的孩子更可能拥有“嘈杂的大脑”她说道。

这是因为他们不太可能知道太多的词汇，所以他们对声音和语言的反应能力就越差。“而音乐不经意间就能使中枢神经系统对声音的反应更加灵敏，”Kraus博士解释说。

来源：BBC（翻译：唐圣闻  审阅：黄安娜）

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