Relationship between musical training, working memory, and verbal comprehension in adolescents aged 12 to 14 years

Abstract

Recent research on the relationship between the brain and music has increasingly focused on understanding how active musical practice can produce lasting changes in various cognitive functions. Comparative studies of populations with and without musical training have examined whether such training fosters the transfer of music-related skills to other domains, regardless of their direct connection to music. As a result, beneficial effects on cognitive performance have been observed among individuals with musical training, even in areas not strictly related to music. Despite these findings, there is still a gap in our understanding of how musical training specifically affects working memory and verbal comprehension in adolescents. To address this issue, the present study evaluated the impact of a youth orchestra program in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on working memory and verbal comprehension, using standardized tests administered to adolescents aged 12 to 14 years. A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing two groups of adolescents—one with musical training and one without. The results showed significant differences favoring the musically trained group in both forward and backward digit span tests, as well as in the verbal comprehension subtests (Similarities, Vocabulary, and Comprehension). No significant differences were found in the remaining tests. These findings suggest that the youth orchestra program contributes positively to certain aspects of cognitive development, which may, in turn, have favorable implications for academic performance and, potentially, future professional endeavors.