Friday June 9, 2006, 5.00 pm
School of Music & Music Education, Webster Bldg Room, G18
University of NSW

"Of Mice and Men: Evaluating non-musical benefits of acoustic enrichment and
musical training"
Nikki S. Rickard, Monash University.
Non-musical benefits of exposure and engagement with music have been
reported for centuries, but have only recently been subjected to critical
scientific evaluation. For instance, while a musical upbringing has
consistently been claimed to advance children in academic and other
intellectual domains, only a handful of studies have confirmed this
experimentally. In this talk, two projects currently underway at Monash
which attempt to explore this claim further will be described. The first
will follow three groups of primary school children for 3 years as they are
involved in an intensive, sequential music training program, a non-musical
but otherwise engaging arts activity, or no new arts activities. Two age
cohorts will be assessed on measures of memory, literacy and numeracy,
social skills and self-esteem. The second project will follow three groups
of young Long-Evans rats for 2 years as they are exposed to an acoustically
enriched environment, a Oclassic¹ enriched environment or no additional
enrichment. Animals will be assessed on measures of spatial memory,
synaptic plasticity, anxiety and general health. While data have not yet
been obtained for either project, feedback on the use of parallel approaches
to certain issues in music psychology is welcomed.

Reference
Rickard, N.S., Toukhsati, S.R., & Field, S.E. (2005). The effect of music on
cognitive performance: Insight from neurobiological and animal studies.
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 4(4), 235-261.