Listening to music or playing an instrument can prevent cognitive decline in old age a new study shows. It produces grey matter in the brain, keeping the organ firing on all cylinders for longer.
Researchers from the University of Geneva studied 132 healthy retirees from 62 to 78 years of age. One of the conditions for participation was that they had not taken any music lessons for more than six months in their lives.
They were then enrolled in piano and music awareness training for six months. As we age, brain plasticity lessens and is known as brain atrophy when we lose grey matter where neurons are located.
This leads to less working memory which is what we use to remember something briefly before noting it down somewhere for later. Sufferers can appear forgetful. The new study published in the journal NeuroImage: Reports revealed that music practice and active listening could prevent working memory decline.
The activities promoted brain plasticity and were associated with grey matter volume increase and positive measures on working memory. Participants were divided into two random groups, one learned the piano and the other studied music for an hour a day with half an hour practise or homework.
Dr Damien Marie, first author of the study, said: ‘‘We wanted people whose brains did not yet show any traces of plasticity linked to musical learning. Indeed, even a brief learning experience in the course of one’s life can leave imprints on the brain, which would have biased our results."
Professor Clara James, last author of the study, added: ‘‘After six months, we found common effects for both interventions. Neuroimaging revealed an increase in grey matter in four brain regions involved in high-level cognitive functioning in all participants, including cerebellum areas involved in working memory.
"Their performance increased by 6 per cent and this result was directly correlated to the plasticity of the cerebellum."
In those learning piano, the volume of grey matter remained stable in the right primary auditory cortex, a key region for sound processing, whereas it decreased in the active listening group. Dr Marie added: "In addition, a global brain pattern of atrophy was present in all participants.
"Therefore, we cannot conclude that musical interventions rejuvenate the brain. They only prevent ageing in specific regions."
These results show that practicing and listening to music promotes brain plasticity and cognitive reserve. The authors of the study believe that these playful and accessible interventions should become a major policy priority for healthy ageing.
The next step for the team is to evaluate the potential of these interventions in people with mild cognitive impairment, an intermediate stage between normal ageing and dementia.
