Music intervention for neurodevelopment in the pediatric population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal

Scientific Reports

Year

2025

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to summarize and analyze current research on the effects of MI on neurodevelopment in children of all ages and health statuses to provide a reference for music therapy (MT) and its clinical research in pediatrics. We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases up to December 2023, focusing on randomized controlled trials that evaluated neurodevelopmental outcomes following MI. Our analysis, which included seven studies involving 337 participants, employed standardized mean difference (SMD) calculations to assess outcomes across multiple neurodevelopmental scales. While no significant cognitive improvements were observed on the Bayley-III scale, positive effects were noted in language, motor skills, and IQ scores when assessed via Gesell, CSBQ, and IQ scales. Our research underscores the potential of music intervention in the process of children's neurodevelopment, including cognitive function, language, motor and IQ. Based on the limitations, researchers should carefully design their MI protocols, ensuring standardization and avoiding probable confounding factors such as regional specificity, age ranges and special populations, it will contribute to more robust results and improve the comparability of findings across studies.

Music and Health Institute Terms

Music Therapy; Music-based Interventions; Children; Receptive Music Methods; Music Listening; Recorded Music Listening; Observational Measures; Cognitive Abilities; Functional Status; Memory; Recreative Music Methods; Playing an Instrument

Indexed Terms

Children; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Children; Cognition; Meta-Analysis; Motor Skills; Music intervention; Neurodevelopment; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Pediatrics; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Study Type

Systematic Review; Quantitative Methods

PubMed ID

PMID: 40140669 PMCID: PMC11947319

Document Type

Article

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