USC Study to Track How Intense Music Training Shapes Childhood Brain Development in YOLA at HOLA Students
Researchers at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute will examine how high‑intensity musical training influences emotional, social, and cognitive development in children enrolled in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s YOLA at HOLA program.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) have launched a five‑year longitudinal research collaboration titled “Effects of Early Childhood Musical Training on Brain and Cognitive Development.” This study brings together orchestral education, community services, and neuroscience to investigate the potential impact of consistent, structured music education on the developing brain.
Through the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles program at Heart of Los Angeles (YOLA at HOLA), which provides free instruments and music instruction to children in the Rampart District of Los Angeles, USC neuroscientists will observe children from the start of their participation in an intensive music curriculum. The study team is led by USC University Professors Hanna Damasio and Antonio Damasio, directors of the USC Brain and Creativity Institute and the Dornsife Neuroimaging Institute, and professors of psychology and neurology in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Beginning when participants are approximately 6 to 7 years old and following them until age 11 to 12, researchers will employ a combination of standard psychological assessments and advanced brain imaging techniques to monitor changes in brain structure and function, emotional regulation, social skills, and cognitive performance. The investigators will compare children enrolled in YOLA at HOLA to a carefully matched control group of children who share similar age, socio‑economic background, and baseline cognitive abilities but who do not receive formal musical training. By tracking both groups over five consecutive years, the study is designed to capture developmental trajectories as they unfold, rather than relying solely on retrospective or adult‑based inferences.
Dr. Assal Habibi of the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, herself both a neuroscientist and a trained musician, and Dr. Beatriz Ilari of the USC Thornton School of Music, a musician and music educator, will lead day‑to‑day data collection with graduate students and research assistants. They will work directly with YOLA children and their families to conduct behavioral testing, educational and social assessments, and neuroimaging sessions. All procedures and assessments will follow ethical research standards, and findings will be summarized for the scientific community and shared with the public in accessible formats.
This longitudinal collaboration is intended to strengthen the evidence base on how early, intensive music education may influence multiple domains of child development: cognitive skills such as attention and memory, social and emotional competencies like cooperation and emotional awareness, and brain development patterns observable through neuroimaging. The study aims to contribute rigorous data that can inform educators, neuroscientists, policymakers, and community organizations about the role of music education in childhood development.
Project Notes and Contact
Contact: Suzanne Wu – University of Southern California
Source: University of Southern California news release. The original research project name is Effects of Early Childhood Musical Training on Brain and Cognitive Development.
Image credit: Image adapted from an original photograph by Frank Vincentz; image used for illustrative purposes in project communications.