Music training can help the brain focus
Musical people find it easier to focus their attention on the right sounds in noisy environments. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Science Advances. The results suggest that music training can be used to sharpen attention and cognition.
Being able to focus on a conversation in a room full of noise is a complex task for the brain. In a new study, researchers have investigated how music training affects the brain's ability to focus attention on specific sounds.
The results show that musical people are better at using so-called top-down attention—a conscious control of focus—while being less sensitive to so-called bottom-up attention—distracting sounds (see fact box).
“Our results suggest that music training strengthens the brain's ability to focus under distracting conditions,” says lead author Cassia Low Manting, a researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.
In the study, participants listened to two melodies with different pitches simultaneously, and their task was to follow the pitch changes in one of them. Using a method called frequency tagging, the researchers were able to measure the brain's response to each melody separately. In two experiments with 28 and 20 participants, respectively, the researchers manipulated both conscious (top-down) and automatic (bottom-up) attention.
Application in rehabilitation
The results showed that people with high musical ability had stronger brain signals linked to conscious attention and weaker signals linked to automatic distractions.
"It's interesting to see how music training not only improves hearing but also the brain's ability to maintain attention over time. This may have applications in education and rehabilitation, where music can be used as a tool to improve attention and cognitive control," says Cassia Low Manting.
The researchers emphasize that the results cannot prove a causal link between music training and improved attention, but they do support the idea that music can have beneficial effects on the brain's cognitive functions.
The study is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It has been funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. The researchers state that there are no conflicts of interest.
Publication
“How musicality enhances top- down and bottom- up selective attention: Insights from precise separation of simultaneous neural responses”, Cassia Low Manting, Dimitrios Pantazis, John Gabrieli, Daniel Lundqvist, Science Advances, online September 17, 2025, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adz0510
Facts about attention
Top-down attention is a goal-directed process in which we consciously focus on specific aspects of our surroundings based on our goals and expectations. This type of attention is guided by our previous experiences, knowledge, and intentions. For example, when we look for a friend in a crowd, we use top-down attention to focus on faces that match our friend's appearance.
Bottom-up attention is a stimulus-driven process in which our attention is automatically drawn to salient or unexpected stimuli in our environment. This type of attention is guided by the sensory properties of stimuli, such as brightness, color, or movement. For example, when we hear a loud noise or see a sudden movement, our attention is automatically drawn to the source of that stimulus.