Recruiting

Music Training

Sponsor:

The Mind Research Network

Code:

NCT06005181

Conditions

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 16

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Music listening

Piano training

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if music training improves behavioral or cognitive performance in children with prenatal alcohol exposure who meet research criteria for a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does music training improve behavioral regulation for children with an FASD
  • Does music training improve cognitive performance (attention and working memory) for children with an FASD.

The study has two interventions for each participant: music listening and piano training. Each participant will either practice piano daily for 12 weeks or listen to pre-selected music daily for 12 weeks. The order of the interventions will be randomized across participants. Assessment will occur before and after participation in each 12 week intervention.

Conditions

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Study ID

NCT06005181

Start date

Oct 2, 2023

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 16

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children must receive a research designation of FASD
  • Children must have confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with other confirmed developmental disorders that are not deemed associated with FASD (e.g. autism spectrum disorder, Down Syndrome). Children with attention deficits (e.g. ADHD) are not excluded.
  • Children with neurological disorders (epilepsy, cerebral palsy, etc.)
  • Children who have experienced a traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness >10 minutes
  • Children with intelligence quotient scores <70
  • Children who are, or become, a ward of the state; however children with a legal representative who can consent on their behalf will not be excluded
  • Children with ongoing music training outside of school or >1 year of prior private music lessons.

Study Design

Enrollment

32 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Music listening then piano training

Participants will listen to music for 10 minutes per day for 12 weeks. After one week of assessments, participants will practice piano for 10 minutes per day for 12 weeks.

experimental: Piano training then music listening

Participants will practice piano for 10 minutes per day for 12 weeks. After one week of assessments, participants will listen to music for 10 minutes per day for 12 weeks.

Interventions

Music listening

Daily music listening

Piano training

Daily piano practice

Primary outcome measure

  • Assessment of behavioral regulation - Inhibit [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]
  • Assessment of Attention using the Conners Continuous Performance Test [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]
  • Assessment of Working Memory using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC V) [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Julia M Stephen, PhD

505-272-5028JSTEPHEN@MRN.ORG

Locations

The Mind Research Network

Recruiting

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87106

Contacts

Sadie LaBauve, PhD

505-272-8739slabauve@mrn.org

More Information

Sponsor

The Mind Research Network

Last update posted

Aug 14, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • music training
  • music listening
  • piano training
  • attention

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by The Mind Research Network on 2026-08-14.