Music Training and Child Development Study

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 Hispanic children between ages 6-8 from underserved communities of LA 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.