Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42721540›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental cognitive neuroscience2026

Musical training is associated with cognitive outcomes and white matter microstructure in middle childhood.

Kelsie L Lopez, Yaen Chen, Roger Burtonpatel, Lauren Raine, Arthur F Kramer, Charles H Hillman, Psyche Loui

Abstract read
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Article in Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kelsie L LopezDept. of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, USA; Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, USA. Electronic address: lopez.ke@northeastern.edu.
Yaen ChenBiological and Medical Informatics PhD Program, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California San Francisco, USA.
Roger BurtonpatelDept. of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Lauren RaineDept. of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, USA; Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, USA.
Arthur F KramerBeckman Institute, University of Illinois, USA.
Charles H HillmanDept. of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, USA; Dept. Of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, USA; Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, USA.
Psyche LouiDept. of Music, College of Arts, Media, and Design, Northeastern University, USA; Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, USA.

Funding

Enhancing Child Cognitive and Brain Health through Physical Activity TrainingR01HD069381 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · PI MCAULEY, EDWARD · 2012 to 2016
$3.0M
ERPs to Academics: Exercise Effects on Cognition in School-Aged ChildrenR01HD055352 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · PI HILLMAN, CHARLES H · 2008 to 2011
$1.3M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD055352NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD069381
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Musical training is associated with improved cognitive and academic performance across development. While specific neural mechanisms have been implicated in these associations, the precise relationship between white matter structure and putative cognitive effects of musical training are unclear. The present study examined the relationships between musical training, cognitive performance, and white matter structure in middle childhood. Using a combination of behavioral assessments and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in a sample of 76 preadolescents (38 with musical training and 38 without musical training) between 7 and 9 years old, cognitive abilities were tested using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III) and the Operation Span Task (OSPAN), while academic achievement was assessed using the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA II). Behavioral results revealed that participants with musical training had higher cognitive scores (F(5, 70) = 2.89, p = .02) and greater academic achievement (F(5, 70) = 4.09, p = .003) compared to those without musical training. DTI results revealed that musical training was associated with higher mode (F(1, 48) = 5.82, p = 0.02) in the right PCG to STGp tract of the arcuate fasciculus (AF), although the relationship was marginally significant following Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Together, these results provide both behavioral and neural evidence for the relationship between musical training and cognition in a sample of preadolescents.

Indexed as

Academic achievementCognitionDiffusion tensor imagingMusical training

Identifiers

PMID42721540
PMCPMC13580053

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.