Cognitive Effects of Music and Dance Training in Children
- Conditions
- Cognitive Change
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Music TrainingBehavioral: Dance Training
- Registration Number
- NCT03160391
- Lead Sponsor
- York University
- Brief Summary
The study used a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of two interventions (dance and musical training) for typically developing children. Interventions were run for three weeks in local community locations. Participants were tested before and after the intervention on a battery of cognitive and behavioural measures. They were compared across groups, and to a control group who do not receive the intervention.
The purpose of the current study was to assess the influence of dance and musical training on cognitive development. Research has indicated that musical training is associated with improve cognitive functioning, although the direction of such an association is unclear. Further, it is uncertain whether any benefits are specific to musical training or can also be demonstrated with other training activities. The current study used a randomized controlled trial to assess the causal effects of dance and musical training.
- Detailed Description
Participants Monolingual children aged between six and nine years old were recruited from two local communities in Ontario, Canada. Children with developmental delays, learning disabilities, or previous arts training were excluded from the study.
Participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups
1. Dance intervention group
2. Music intervention group
To establish baseline performance levels and have a comparison, a passive control group was collected from the same towns using the same exclusion criteria.
Data analysis Difference scores were calculated for each measure by subtracting each participant's second testing session data from the first. When appropriate, iterative trimming with a 3 SD cutoff was used, by subject and by condition, to remove outliers. Results for each measure were analyzed using one-way ANOVAs (analysis of variance) for the between-subjects factor of training group (music, dance, or control).
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 75
- Monolingual
- Developmental delays or learning disabilities
- Previous arts training (in dance, drama, or music)
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Music Training Music Training Music Training Dance Training Dance Training Dance Training
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in quantity-identity task switching Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) quantity-identity task (Cepeda, Cepeda, \& Kramer, 2000)
Change in interference control on flanker Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Flanker task (Bunge, Dudukovic, Thomason, Vaidya, \& Gabriela, 2002)
Change in interference control on Stroop Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Stroop task (Cepeda, Blackwell, \& Munakata, 2013)
Change in visuospatial working memory Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Self-ordered pointing task (Cragg \& Nation, 2007)
Change in verbal working memory Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Digit span (Weschler, 2008)
Change in color-shape task switching Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) color-shape task (Wiseheart, Viswanathan, \& Bialystok, 2015)
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in Receptive vocabulary Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV; Dunn, Dunn, \& Lenhard, 2015)
Change in Non-verbal intelligence Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT-2; Kaufman \& Kaufman, 2004)
Change in processing speed using symbol copy Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Symbol copy (Weschler, 1991)
Change in processing speed using box completion Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Box completion (Salthouse, 1993)
Change in processing speed using digit symbol Before and after intervention (3 weeks gap) Digit symbol (Weschler, 1991)