and reach thousands of daily visitors
Listen to thisUK
Learning Music May Mean a Better Brain for Kids
Learning a musical instrument is good for anyone, but
for kids we already know that it can help them learn eye-hand coordination
and give them a way to express themselves that can last a lifetime. But now
a study has found that musical training can change the brain in ways that
help a child focus their attention, diminish anxiety, and control their
emotions.
These findings are based analysis of brain scans of 232 children who studied
a musical instrument. The brain scans were examined to look at the thickness
of the children's cortex, the outer layer of the brain, which thickens with
age. Previous research had found that cortical thickening or thinning in
specific areas happened with anxiety, depression, and attention problems.
The goal of this study was to see if musical training affects cortical
thickness.
Researchers at the University of Vermont and Harvard University found that
music training altered the areas of the brain that deal with control and
coordination of movement, and that there were changes in the areas of the
brain that regulate behavior. Music training influenced thickness in parts
of the cortex that relate to higher thinking, memory, control of attention,
and with organizing and planning for the future. It also appears to be
associated with thickening in areas that play a role in behavioral control
and aspects of processing emotion.
The study examined brain scans of children tho were enrolled in the Magnetic
Resonance Imaging Study of Normal Brain Development, a long-term research
project on the brain run by the National Institutes of Health. The 232
children in this study had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), intelligence
tests, and behavioral testing on up to three visits that occurred every two
years. They ranged in age from 6 to 18 years old and were known to be
learning a musical instrument.
According to the authors of the study, it is the largest investigation of
the association between the development of the brain and playing a musical
instrument.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child
& Adult Psychiatry.
21 January 2015
http://www.youthhealthmag.com/articles/7780/20150121/music-brain-brain-research-brain-development.html
