Functional MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) can give us pictures of what happens to children’s brains when comparing speech vs. song activity. Researchers Lai, Pantazatos, Schneider and Hirsch (2012) looked at the neural systems for speech and song in children with autism compared to typically developing children. The results showed that “functional systems that process speech and song were more effectively engaged for song than speech” (p. 961). Knowing that music activates more areas of the brain than speech, this finding is not surprising.
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