FY25-WAC-Impact-Report-FINAL - Report - Page 8
HOW THE ARTS CAN ...
Grow a Child’s Developing Brain
From birth, infants’ brains constantly form connections through a process called experience-dependent
plasticity, with 90 percent of a child’s brain developing by age five. Every interaction and conversation,
including creative and artistic experiences, help activate specific neural pathways, strengthening those
that are frequently engaged. That’s why we’re ensuring our community’s youngest learners experience the
arts—right from the start.
Music Education
Exposure to music allows young minds to absorb
notes, tones, and words they will later use,
preparing their brains for learning and enhancing
cognitive ability for a lifetime. Music builds neural
pathways throughout the brain, but especially in
the corpus callosum, a band of tissue that
connects the two hemispheres. Neurologists
believe these connections increase problemsolving ability and greater emotional resilience in
young people.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Music for the
Very Young classes, in partnership with The Music
Class, offer interactive research-based musical
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experiences at no cost to families. Classes are full
of creative movement, and families can take the
music home to facilitate meaningful repetition
outside the classroom. This early and frequent
exposure to music sets the learning and reading
brain up for lifelong success.
And for young people facing anxiety and
depression, listening to relaxing music can lower
cortisol levels by nearly 60 percent, which helps
maintain blood pressure, steadies the heart rate,
and reduces anxiety and stress.
