About this Research Topic

Background

This Research Topic bridges the fields of neuroscience, music cognition, music education, and music therapy with a specific emphasis on understanding how music contributes to sustainable initiatives in inclusivity, sensory processing, cognitive development, mental health, cultural diversity, and, importantly, the neural mechanisms underlying these areas.

Aided by neuroscience, sustainability in music programs entails catering to the needs of a growing population, considering its social, psychological, cultural, and economic diversity. Realizing a sustainable vision for music education, music cognition, and music therapy is only possible by applying what we have learned about human cognitive function, development, and change as regulated by the neural mechanisms influenced by musical experiences.

Challenges to music program sustainability, including reduced program offerings and lack of inclusivity, can be navigated through enhanced understanding of the impact of music on cognitive function and the brain's neural networks. Music interventions offering dual aspects of learning and therapeutic outcomes have the potential to influence neural mechanisms, thus expanding their reach to a larger population.

By bridging the disciplines of music cognition, music education, and music therapy, our Research Topic aims to invite contributions that extends our knowledge of brain plasticity, developmental processes, and potential cognitive enhancement of music interventions. We explore the significant, intricate interplay between neuroscience, music cognition, music education, and music therapy. The focus is on sustainable cognitive development, underlying neural mechanisms, the influence of culturally diverse music programs, and health-related impacts.

Key questions to be addressed range from the influence of music training on cognitive abilities, its underlying neural mechanisms, effective utilization of music for cognitive interventions & rehabilitation, the impact of diverse music training on cognitive development and cultural sustainability, to the effects of novel music-based therapy programs on various outcomes across the lifespan.

We encourage researchers to contribute their expertise and insights on the following themes:

• The impact of music training on cognitive abilities, such as language processing, executive functions, and spatial-temporal skills throughout various developmental stages, with focus on the involvement of neural mechanisms.
• Neuroplasticity and brain modifications associated with music training and cognitive development in underrepresented populations.
• The role of emotional and affective processes in the relationship between music, cognition, and brain function in healthy and clinical populations.
• Potential applications of music-based interventions for cognitive enhancement, neuropsychological rehabilitation, or music therapy interventions and their impact on the brain.
• The influence of inclusive, culturally diverse music programs on health-related outcomes and their neural implications.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that further our understanding of the neuroscience of music and cognition. Manuscripts should present novel findings, propose theoretical frameworks, or critically review existing knowledge to illuminate the complex relationship between music, cognition, developmental processes, and their underlying neural interplay. Contributions from various disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, education, music therapy, and musicology, are highly appreciated.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: cognition, development, music learning, music perception, music therapy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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