The effect of early musical training on adult motor performance: evidence for a sensitive period in motor learning

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2005 Dec:1060:265-8. doi: 10.1196/annals.1360.049.

Abstract

This experiment demonstrates that musicians who began training before age seven perform better on a rhythmic tapping task than musicians who began after the age of seven, when the two groups are matched for years of experience. These results support the idea that there may be a sensitive period in childhood for motor training, similar to that observed for language learning.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Auditory Perception
  • Brain / anatomy & histology
  • Brain / growth & development*
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain Mapping
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Learning*
  • Memory
  • Motor Skills*
  • Music*
  • Time Factors
  • Visual Perception