{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T06:40:13Z","timestamp":1767595213008,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767571200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Infancy and early childhood lay the foundation for language and reading abilities. They are crucial for success in social relationships, education, and work life, but can be compromised by heritable conditions such as developmental dyslexia. Music activities have shown associations with auditory, language, and literacy skills, but randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been lacking, especially in young and at-risk populations. This two-arm RCT evaluates the efficacy of an early music intervention for language development. As highly novel aspects, we investigate whether and how the efficacy is influenced by familial dyslexia risk and its genetic markers, as well as intervention timing (children\u2019s age and developmental status), and mediated by expected social\u2013emotional benefits of the interventions on the parent, child, and their interaction.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A maximum of 200 infants will be recruited for the trial, with approximately 50% of them at familial dyslexia risk, and randomized to the experimental (music intervention) or control arm (circus intervention), where they will start a weekly 6-month intervention at the age of approximately 8\u201312\u202fmonths. Outcome measures will be evaluated at baseline, at 6\u202fmonths (after the intervention), and at a 1-year follow-up (1.5\u202fyears from the baseline). As primary outcome measures of language development, language abilities will be evaluated with standardized parental questionnaires (validated parental report instruments) and neural speech processing with auditory event-related potentials. Further outcome measures include, for example, standardized tests of language development, standardized parental questionnaires on social\u2013emotional factors, neural processing of music, questionnaires and standardized tests of motor development, and dyslexia genetics (DNA sampling).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The present trial is expected to fill significant gaps in previous research on the effects of early-age musical activities on language development. By comparing a musical intervention to an equally active, social, structured, and pleasurable circus intervention in a randomized, controlled setting with pre- and post-assessments, the unique benefits of musical activities can be probed reliably. The trial can provide completely novel information on the moderators and mediators of the intervention outcomes, including participant characteristics such as dyslexia risk, age, and developmental stage, as well as social\u2013emotional benefits of pleasurable group activities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Clinical trial registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:ext-link>ClinicalTrials.gov<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      ; identifier NCT06261307.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1699558","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T06:38:04Z","timestamp":1767595084000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Language development deficits and early interactive music intervention (BusyBaby): protocol description of a double-blind randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of music on language development in infancy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"P.","family":"Virtala","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"B.","family":"Aquilino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"P.","family":"Nie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Navarrete-Arroyo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Stolt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"K.","family":"Leutonen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Lauronen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T.","family":"Kujala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Parenting stress index: Professional manual","author":"Abidin","year":"1995"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Bayley scales of infant and toddler development","author":"Bayley","year":"2006"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13349","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0972-14.2014","article-title":"Plasticity in developing brain: active auditory exposure impacts prelinguistic acoustic mapping","volume":"34","author":"Benasich","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1093\/jpepsy\/jsh017","article-title":"The brief infant\u2013toddler social emotional assessment: screening for social-emotional problems and delays in competence","volume":"29","author":"Briggs-Gowan","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Pediatr. Psychol."},{"key":"ref5","author":"Caldwell","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dcn.2016.03.002","article-title":"Auditory discrimination predicts linguistic outcome in Italian infants with and without familial risk for language learning impairment","volume":"20","author":"Cantiani","year":"2016","journal-title":"Dev. Cogn. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"956","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhs377","article-title":"Twelve months of active musical training in 8- to 10-year-old children enhances the preattentive processing of syllabic duration and voice onset time","volume":"24","author":"Chobert","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2046","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12052046","article-title":"Circus activities as a health intervention for children, youth, and adolescents: a scoping review","volume":"12","author":"Coulston","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Clin. Med."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-407794-2.00065-1","article-title":"Developmental dyslexia","volume-title":"Neurobiology of language","author":"Eden","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Reynell Developmental Language Scales","author":"Edwards","year":"1997"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review","author":"Fancourt","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref12","volume-title":"The MacArthur communicative development inventories: User\u2019s guide and technical manual","author":"Fenson","year":"1993"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"771","DOI":"10.1037\/neu0000766","article-title":"Processing rhythm in speech and music: shared mechanisms and implications for developmental speech and language disorders","volume":"35","author":"Fiveash","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neuropsychology"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0138715","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0138715","article-title":"Music training increases phonological awareness and reading skills in developmental dyslexia: a randomized control trial","volume":"10","author":"Flaugnacco","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-7687.2012.01142.x","article-title":"Active music classes in infancy enhance musical, communicative and social development","volume":"15","author":"Gerry","year":"2012","journal-title":"Dev. Sci."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conb.2012.09.003","article-title":"Neurogenetics and auditory processing in developmental dyslexia","volume":"23","author":"Giraud","year":"2013","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Neurobiol."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2016.00026","article-title":"Music and dyslexia: a new musical training method to improve reading and related disorders","volume":"7","author":"Habib","year":"2016","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1177\/0022219411436213","article-title":"Basic auditory processing deficits in dyslexia: systematic review of the behavioral and event-related potential\/field evidence","volume":"46","author":"H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4inen","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Learn. Disabil."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100831","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dcn.2020.100831","article-title":"Infant event-related potentials to speech are associated with prelinguistic development","volume":"45","author":"Kailaheimo-L\u00f6nnqvist","year":"2020","journal-title":"Dev. Cogn. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbrc.2014.07.102","article-title":"The molecular genetics and neurobiology of developmental dyslexia as model of a complex phenotype","volume":"452","author":"Kere","year":"2014","journal-title":"Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1016\/j.evolhumbehav.2010.04.004","article-title":"Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children","volume":"31","author":"Kirschner","year":"2010","journal-title":"Evol. Hum. Behav."},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"Reynellin kielellisen kehityksen testi","author":"Kortesmaa","year":"2001"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.1080\/08098131.2020.1837210","article-title":"Effects of maternal singing during kangaroo care on maternal anxiety, wellbeing, and mother-infant relationship after preterm birth: a mixed methods study","volume":"30","author":"Kostilainen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nord. J. Music. Ther."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2882","article-title":"Music training for the development of auditory skills","volume":"11","author":"Kraus","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"831","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn1533","article-title":"Early language acquisition: cracking the speech code","volume":"5","author":"Kuhl","year":"2004","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2010.08.038","article-title":"Brain mechanisms in early language acquisition","volume":"67","author":"Kuhl","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2528","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-021-01546-0","article-title":"Estimating power in (generalized) linear mixed models: an open introduction and tutorial in R","volume":"53","author":"Kumle","year":"2021","journal-title":"Behav. Res. Methods"},{"key":"ref28","volume-title":"Varhaisen kommunikaation ja kielen kehityksen arviointimenetelm\u00e4; ITC-versio","author":"Laakso","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1528","DOI":"10.1002\/wcs.1528","article-title":"Is atypical rhythm a risk factor for developmental speech and language disorders?","volume":"11","author":"Lad\u00e1nyi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Cogn. Sci."},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1362","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cortex.2010.06.003","article-title":"Newborn brain event-related potentials reveal atypical processing of sound frequency and associations with later literacy skills in children with familial dyslexia","volume":"46","author":"Lepp\u00e4nen","year":"2010","journal-title":"Cortex"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8767","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-27126-5","article-title":"Music playschool enhances children\u2019s linguistic skills","volume":"8","author":"Linnavalli","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref32","volume-title":"Varhaisen kommunikaation ja kielen kehityksen arviointimenetelm\u00e4 (MCDI)","author":"Lyytinen","year":"1999"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.1111\/cdev.12297","article-title":"Short-term second-language and music training induces lasting functional brain changes in early childhood","volume":"86","author":"Moreno","year":"2015","journal-title":"Child Dev."},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"712","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhn120","article-title":"Musical training influences linguistic abilities in 8-year-old children: more evidence for brain plasticity","volume":"19","author":"Moreno","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dcn.2017.04.004","article-title":"Active auditory experience in infancy promotes brain plasticity in theta and gamma oscillations","volume":"26","author":"Musacchia","year":"2017","journal-title":"Dev. Cogn. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2024.05.016","article-title":"Infant neural speech encoding is associated with pre-reading skill development","volume":"164","author":"Navarrete-Arroyo","year":"","journal-title":"Clin. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"248","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2024.02.032","article-title":"Infant mismatch responses to speech-sound changes predict language development in preschoolers at risk for dyslexia","volume":"162","author":"Navarrete-Arroyo","year":"","journal-title":"Clin. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref38","volume-title":"Individual test material for reading and writing skills in adolescents and adults (standardization version)","author":"Nevala","year":"2006"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104777","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2022.104777","article-title":"Does music training enhance auditory and linguistic processing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioral and brain evidence","volume":"140","author":"Neves","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev."},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1177\/0305735600282010","article-title":"Dyslexia, temporal processing and music: the potential of music as an early learning aid for dyslexic children","volume":"28","author":"Overy","year":"2000","journal-title":"Psychol. Music"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1196\/annals.1284.060","article-title":"Dyslexia and music: from timing deficits to musical intervention","volume":"999","author":"Overy","year":"2003","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101651","DOI":"10.1016\/j.infbeh.2021.101651","article-title":"The impact of the home musical environment on infants\u2019 language development","volume":"65","author":"Papadimitriou","year":"2021","journal-title":"Infant Behav. Dev."},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-6632.2011.06426.x","article-title":"The OPERA hypothesis: assumptions and clarifications","volume":"1252","author":"Patel","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20140090","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2014.0090","article-title":"Neural overlap in processing music and speech","volume":"370","author":"Peretz","year":"2015","journal-title":"Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B Biol. Sci."},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112842","article-title":"Developmental dyslexia","volume":"11","author":"Peterson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol."},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11310","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-019-47467-z","article-title":"Musical playschool activities are linked to faster auditory development during preschool-age: a longitudinal ERP study","volume":"9","author":"Putkinen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref1001","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"386","DOI":"10.1016\/j.infbeh.2006.01.004","article-title":"Measurement of fine-grained aspects of toddler temperament: The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire","volume":"29","author":"Putnam","year":"2006","journal-title":"Infant behavior and development,"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1080\/00223891.2013.841171","article-title":"Development and assessment of short and very short forms of the infant behavior questionnaire\u2013revised","volume":"96","author":"Putnam","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Pers. Assess."},{"key":"ref48","article-title":"Development and assessment of short and very short forms of the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Poster presented at International Conference on Infant Studies, Baltimore, MD","author":"Putnam","year":"2010"},{"key":"ref49","volume-title":"Reynell developmental language scales III","author":"Reynell","year":"2001"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ctim.2018.02.008","article-title":"Reporting quality of music intervention research in healthcare: a systematic review","volume":"38","author":"Robb","year":"2018","journal-title":"Complement. Ther. Med."},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2014.12.001","article-title":"Predictions and the brain: how musical sounds become rewarding","volume":"19","author":"Salimpoor","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends Cogn. Sci."},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"498","DOI":"10.1037\/bul0000037","article-title":"Oral language deficits in familial dyslexia: a meta-analysis and review","volume":"142","author":"Snowling","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull."},{"key":"ref53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305000908009161","article-title":"Associations between lexicon and grammar at the end of the second year in Finnish children","volume":"36","author":"Stolt","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Child Lang."},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"382","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2006.06.003","article-title":"Dynamic auditory processing, musical experience and language development","volume":"29","author":"Tallal","year":"2006","journal-title":"Trends Neurosci."},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhab194","article-title":"Improved auditory function caused by music versus foreign language training at school age: is there a difference?","volume":"32","author":"Tervaniemi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"634","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2019.01.019","article-title":"An extensive pattern of atypical neural speech-sound discrimination in newborns at risk of dyslexia","volume":"130","author":"Thiede","year":"2019","journal-title":"Clin. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"949","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2014.00949","article-title":"Auditory-motor entrainment and phonological skills: precise auditory timing hypothesis (PATH)","volume":"8","author":"Tierney","year":"2014","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-6632.2012.06462.x","article-title":"Becoming musically enculturated: effects of music classes for infants on brain and behavior","volume":"1252","author":"Trainor","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1386\/ijmec.14.1.9_1","article-title":"Nurturing infants with music","volume":"14","author":"Trehub","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Music. Early. Child."},{"key":"ref60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1046\/j.0021-9630.2003.00305.x","article-title":"Specific reading disability (dyslexia): what have we learned in the past four decades?","volume":"45","author":"Vellutino","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1111\/nyas.13646","article-title":"Can very early music interventions promote at-risk infants\u2019 development?","volume":"1423","author":"Virtala","year":"2018","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e13426","DOI":"10.1111\/desc.13426","article-title":"Beneficial effects of a music listening intervention on neural speech processing in 0-28-month-old children at risk for dyslexia","volume":"26","author":"Virtala","year":"2023","journal-title":"Dev. Sci."},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2022.03.005","article-title":"Infancy and early childhood maturation of neural auditory change detection and its associations to familial dyslexia risk","volume":"137","author":"Virtala","year":"2022","journal-title":"Clin. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"ref64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1016\/j.schres.2017.07.010","article-title":"Cortical responses to tone and phoneme mismatch as a predictor of dyslexia? A systematic review","volume":"191","author":"Volkmer","year":"2018","journal-title":"Schizophr. Res."},{"key":"ref65","volume-title":"Communication and symbolic behavior scales developmental profile (CSBS DP)\u2122: Infant-toddler checklist","author":"Wetherby","year":"2002"},{"key":"ref66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5212","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1603984113","article-title":"Musical intervention enhances infants\u2019 neural processing of temporal structure in music and speech","volume":"113","author":"Zhao","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"941853","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2022.941853","article-title":"Language experience during the sensitive period narrows infants\u2019 sensory encoding of lexical tones\u2014music intervention reverses it","volume":"16","author":"Zhao","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1699558\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]],"date-time":"2026-01-05T06:38:08Z","timestamp":1767595088000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1699558\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]]},"references-count":68,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1699558"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1699558","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,5]]},"article-number":"1699558"}}