Every known human society has language and music, even when other cultural traits are absent.  The impact of language and music on child development cannot be overstated.  Language improves behavioral adaptation, advances cognitive development, and enables academic learning.  Music enhances parent-child bonding, regulates emotions, and facilitates identity formation.  Besides their pivotal roles in our culture and in child development, the fact that language and music both rely on complex sound sequences naturally invites interdisciplinary studies that investigate how they relate to each other and to our biology and culture.  In this GE Salon, Wong will discuss the importance of everyday language and music stimulation on the developing brain and offer strategies to promote language and music in the child’s daily life that can be implemented in the new normal.

Patrick C M Wong is a cognitive neuroscientist, linguist and speech-language therapist.  His research examines cultural and biological factors that lead to variation in language and cognition across individuals.  This body of work has appeared in different interdisciplinary scholarly venues as well as media outlets such as The New York Times and Scientific American.