Research Updates
Here at Bigger Better Brains we believe that through educating yourself, you can then educate and affect positive change in your community.
With all of the research in the field of neuromusical science, our BBB Research section serves as a content hub for you. We regularly share findings and break down the latest research to educate and inspire discussion. We hope you enjoy this page on our website and share BBB news with your colleagues, parents and students.
New neuroscience research upends traditional theories of early language learning in babies
New research challenges traditional theories of infant language acquisition, suggesting that babies primarily learn language through rhythmic rather than phonetic information in their initial months.
Music is the Jackpot!
This video contains excerpts from an ARTSpeaks event held on November 8, 2021. In this video, neurobiologist Nina Kraus explores the impact that music learning has on young students in the areas of reading skills, sound processing, language abilities, and more.
Singing and reciting rhymes can have a positive effect on babies’ language development
Do you have a favourite song or rhyme that you sang to your baby? Or do you remember a song that was sung to you when you were very young? Well it turns out that the more we are sung to or hear language in a rhyming style, the more sensitive our brains are to language, the larger our vocabulary will be and the earlier we could learn how to moderate our moods.
Little ears are listening: How babies learn to talk before they’re even born
This article is packed with fantastic research from the MARCS Institute in Sydney, Australia. It is vital to study the first developmental steps in all areas of life.
Hospitals are prescribing music therapy for babies
“Research suggests music helps parents bond with babies who have had a harrowing start to life and may benefit the babies’ health and brain development.”
Music learning increases pre-reading skills and vocabulary
The results of this study found that early childhood music training can lead to associated improvements in both musical skills and language skills!
Language is music to a baby’s brain
In this study, they found that 9-month-old babies who had one month of exposure to directed music listening improved not only their auditory processing of music but also their language!
![Singing – the [new] pain management for premature babies](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64c31ad8c54df33979a8ebe4/c3eca797-6d6a-4d52-a6a8-3087eab8c824/Mum+and+baby.png)
Singing – the [new] pain management for premature babies
“The primary musical features of infant-directed singing are ideal for emotional coordination and sharing between parent and infant without the risk of over-stimulation.”
Musical play is a must for preschoolers
What is musical play? Is it bashing on an upturned drum in the playground or banging pots and pans on the kitchen floor? Well, it can be both.
Music learning enhances executive function in preschoolers
After 12 weeks of 35 minutes of active music learning every day, randomly chosen preschoolers in the experiment group had higher scores on all of these executive function measures.
Hitting a drum helps preschoolers gain control
To get control of our inhibitory control, preschoolers might first need to get a hold of the beat!
Joint music-making leads to more helping behaviour in 18-month olds
It may seem strange to think of a childcare centre that does not use music in some way. We know about the many cognitive skills that interaction with music can create for your children, but why do we have music in the first place?
