| Abstract: | Immediate and lasting effects of music or second‐language training were examined in early childhood using event‐related potentials. Event‐related potentials were recorded for French vowels and musical notes in a passive oddball paradigm in thirty‐six 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children who received either French or music training. Following training, both groups showed enhanced late discriminative negativity (LDN) in their trained condition (music group–musical notes; French group–French vowels) and reduced LDN in the untrained condition. These changes reflect improved processing of relevant (trained) sounds, and an increased capacity to suppress irrelevant (untrained) sounds. After 1 year, training‐induced brain changes persisted and new hemispheric changes appeared. Such results provide evidence for the lasting benefit of early intervention in young children. |
