the neuroscience of reading
RESEARCH
Quick Takeaways
Brains that are better at processing and remembering sounds are better at reading.
Singing and basic music skills help develop sound processing and memory—the key to learning language and reading.
Keeping a steady beat is correlated with reading achievement; children who cannot pat a steady beat are likely to struggle with reading.
Graphic from the Auditory Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University.
Fascinating TED Talk by a neuroscientist
recent studies
Rhythm, Pitch, and Reading Are Correlated
Alagöz, G., Eising, E., Mekki, Y. et al. (2024). The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm. Nat Hum Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02051-y
Bonacina, S. Otto-Meyer, S., Krizman, J., White-Schwoch, T. Nicol, T., Kraus, N. (2019) Stable auditory processing underlies phonological awareness in typically developing preschoolers, Brain and Language, 197, 104664, ISSN 0093-934X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104664.
Kertész, C., Honbolygó, F. (2021). Tapping to music predicts literacy skills of first-grade children. Frontiers in Psychology: 12. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741540
Lu, H., Zhang, K., & Liu, Q. (2020). Reading fluency and pitch discrimination abilities in children with learning disabilities. Technology and Health Care: Official Journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, 28(S1), 361–370. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7369083/