April 20, 2011
Childhood Music Lessons May Provide Lifelong Boost
in Brain Functioning
Research explores possible link between early musical study and cognitive benefits
WASHINGTON—Those childhood music lessons could pay off decades later - even for those who no longer play an instrument – by keeping the mind sharper as people age, according to a preliminary study published by the American Psychological Association.
The study recruited 70 healthy adults age 60 to 83 who were divided into groups based on their levels of musical experience. The musicians performed better on several cognitive tests than individuals who had never studied an instrument or learned how to read music. The research findings were published online in the APA journal Neuropsychology.
