Experts in domains such as music or sports often start training early. It has been suggested that this may reflect a sensitive period in childhood for skill acquisition. However, it could be that familial factors (e.g., genetics) contribute to the association. Here, we examined the effect of age of onset of musical training on musical aptitude and achievement in professional musicians (n = 310) and twins (n = 7,786). In line with previous literature, results showed that an earlier age of onset was associated with higher aptitude and achievement in both samples. After we adjusted for lifetime practice hours, age of onset was associated only with aptitude (p < .001; achievement: p > .14). Twin analyses showed that the association with aptitude was fully explained by familial factors. Thus, these findings provide little support for a sensitive period for music but highlight that familiar factors play an important role for associations between age of onset of training and skills in adulthood.

中文翻译：

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为什么早期开始训练与成年后的音乐技能有关？遗传信息研究

音乐或运动等领域的专家通常很早就开始训练。有人提出，这可能反映了童年时期对技能习得的敏感时期。然而，可能是家族因素（例如，遗传）促成了这种关联。在这里，我们研究了音乐训练开始年龄对专业音乐家（n = 310）和双胞胎（n = 7,786）的音乐才能和成就的影响。与之前的文献一致，结果表明，在两个样本中，较早的发病年龄与较高的能力和成就相关。在我们调整了终生练习时间后，发病年龄仅与能力相关（p < .001；成就：p > .14）。双胞胎分析表明，家庭因素完全可以解释与能力的关联。因此，