Latent musicality correlates moderately with speech-related communication (r = 0.50) and modestly with cognition (r = 0.33), but not with pragmatic or social-communication factors¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 In a data-driven five-factor phenotypic SEM, the musicality factor correlates with the speech factor (r = 0.50, SE = 0.02) and the cognition factor (r = 0.33, SE = 0.02), but not with the pragmatic or SCDC social-communication factors. → Lucía de Hoyos 2025

Evidence¶

Lucía de Hoyos 2025¶

Lucía de Hoyos, Ellen Verhoef, Aysu Okbay, Janne R. Vermeulen, Celeste Figaroa, Miriam Lense, Simon E. Fisher, Reyna L. Gordon & Beate St Pourcain. (2025). Preschool musicality is associated with school-age communication abilities through genes related to rhythmicity. npj Science of Learning 10:39. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00329-y

q2 · i2 · associational · r2

Data-driven multivariate modelling (EFA in one random half, CFA in the other) of 25 ALSPAC measures yielded a correlated 5-factor model with good fit (CFI = 0.90, TLI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.049, SRMR = 0.034); the article reports "associations of F musicality with F cognition (r = 0.33(SE = 0.02)) and F speech (r = 0.50(SE = 0.02))".

"Focusing on meaningful factor correlations ( | r | >0.3), we observed associations of F musicality with F cognition (r = 0.33(SE = 0.02)) and F speech (r = 0.50(SE = 0.02)) but not with factors underlying more social aspects of communication (Fpragmaticand FSCDC)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Preschool and school-age musicality measures predict school-age communication and social communication, explaining up to 6% of phenotypic variance, while infant nursery-rhyme measures explain less than 1% — related
• The association between preschool musicality and school-age speech-related communication is partially accounted for by polygenic scores for rhythmicity — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Genetic variation shared with rhythmicity does not account for the association between preschool musicality and school-age verbal cognition — related
• Polygenic scores for rhythmicity associate with school-age speech-related communication and verbal-cognition outcomes, with two associations passing multiple-testing correction and four at the nominal level
• Polygenic scores for adult rhythmicity validate ALSPAC preschool and school-age musicality measures, extending genetic associations with rhythmicity to an earlier developmental window