Does Music Training Improve Inhibition Control in Children? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Inhibition control is an essential executive function during childrens development, underpinning self-regulation and the acquisition of social and language abilities. This executive function is intensely engaged in music training while learning an instrument, a complex multisensory task requiring monitoring motor performance and auditory stream prioritization. This novel meta-analysis examined music-based training on inhibition control in children. Records from 1980 to 2023 yielded 22 longitudinal studies with controls (N = 1734), including 8 RCTs and 14 others. A random-effects meta-analysis showed that music training improved inhibition control (medium ES) in the RCTs and the superset of twenty-two longitudinal studies (small-to-medium ES). Music training plays a privileged role compared to other activities (sports, visual arts, drama) in improving childrens executive functioning, with a particular effect on inhibition control. We recommend music training for complementing education and as a clinical tool focusing on inhibition control remediation (e.g., in autism and ADHD).