Music improves baby brain responses to music and speech

Rock your baby in sync with music and you may wonder how the experience affects her and her developing brain. A new study by scientists at the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) shows that a series of play sessions with music improved 9-month-old babies' brain processing of both music and new speech sounds. "Our study is the first in young babies to suggest that experiencing a rhythmic pattern in music can also improve the ability to detect and make predictions about rhythmic patterns in speech,” said lead author Christina Zhao , a postdoctoral researcher at I-LABS. "This means that early, engaging musical experiences can have a more global effect on cognitive skills,” Zhao said. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the study this week. "Infants experience a complex world in which sounds, lights and sensations vary constantly,” said co-author Patricia Kuhl , co-director of I-LABS. "The baby's job is to recognize the patterns of activity and predict what's going to happen next.