Benefits of childhood music lessons may extend into old age

June, 2011

A new study finds length of musical training in childhood is associated with less cognitive decline in old age.

A study involving 70 older adults (60-83) has found that those with at least ten years of musical training performed the best on cognitive tests, followed by those with one to nine years of musical study, with those with no musical training trailing the field.

All the musicians were amateurs who began playing an instrument at about 10 years of age. Half of the high-level musicians still played an instrument at the time of the study, but they didn't perform better on the cognitive tests than the other advanced musicians who had stopped playing years earlier. Previous research suggests that both years of musical participation and age of acquisition are critical.

All the participants had similar levels of education and fitness. The cognitive tests related to visuospatial memory, naming objects and executive function.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/eu-mam042011.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/apa-cml042011.php

Reference:

Hanna-Pladdy, B. & MacKay, A. 2011. The relation between instrumental musical activity and cognitive aging. Neuropsychology, 25 (3), 378-86. doi: 10.1037/a0021895

music

seniors

aging

Strategies

Related News

DHA improves memory in older adults with cognitive impairment

There have been mixed findings about the benefits of DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid), but in a study involving 485 older adults (55+) with age-related cognitive impairment, those randomly assigned to take DHA for six months improved the score on a visuospatial learning and episodic memory test.

More evidence that older adults become less able to ignore distraction

A study involving young (average age 22) and older adults (average age 77) showed participants pictures of overlapping faces and places (houses and buildings) and asked them to identify the gender of the person.

Does early retirement dull your brain?

Do retired people tend to perform more poorly on cognitive tests than working people because you’re more likely to retire if your mental skills are starting to decline, or because retirement dulls the brain?

How the Alzheimer’s gene works; implications for treatment

Carriers of the so-called ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ (apoE4) comprise 65% of all Alzheimer's cases. A new study helps us understand why that’s true.

Low testosterone linked to Alzheimer's disease

A Chinese study involving 153 older men (55+; average age 72), of whom 47 had mild cognitive impairment, has found that 10 of those in the

Vitamin B12 may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease

A seven-year study involving 271 Finns aged 65-79 has revealed that increases in the level of

Heavy smoking in midlife associated with dementia in later years

Data from 21,123 people, surveyed between 1978 and 1985 when in their 50s and tracked for dementia from 1994 to 2008, has revealed that those who smoked more than two packs per day in middle age had more than twice the risk of developing dementia, both Alzheimer's and

Old bees' memory fades too

I love cognitive studies on bees. The whole notion that those teeny-tiny brains are capable of the navigation and communication feats bees demonstrate is so wonderful. Now a new study finds that, just like us, aging bees find it hard to remember the location of a new home.

Walk for your brain’s sake

A long-running study involving 299 older adults (average age 78) has found that those who walked at least 72 blocks during a week of recorded activity (around six to nine miles) had greater gray matter volume nine years later.

70-year-olds smarter than they used to be

Beginning in 1971, healthy older adults in Gothenburg, Sweden, have been participating in a longitudinal study of their cognitive health. The first H70 study started in 1971 with 381 residents of Gothenburg who were 70 years old; a new one began in 2000 with 551 residents and is still ongoing.

Pages