Musical experience offsets some aging effects
May 11, 2011 in Medical research
(Medical Xpress) -- A growing body of research finds musical training gives students learning advantages in the classroom. Now a Northwestern University study finds musical training can benefit Grandma, too, by offsetting some of the deleterious effects of aging.
"Lifelong musical training appears to confer advantages in at least two important functions known to decline with age -- memory and the ability to hear speech in noise," says Nina Kraus, director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory and co-author of the study in the May 11 issue of the online science journal PLoS One.
Co-written by Northwestern researchers Alexandra Parbery-Clark, Dana Strait, Samira Anderson, Emily Hittner and Kraus, "Musical Experience and the Aging Auditory System" finds that -- when compared to their non-musician counterparts -- musicians 45- to 65-years-old excel in auditory memory and the ability to hear speech in noisy environments.
"Difficulty hearing speech in noise is among the most common complaints of older adults, but age-related hearing loss only partially accounts for this impediment that can lead to social isolation and depression," says Kraus. "It's well known that adults with virtually the same hearing profile can differ dramatically in their ability to hear speech in noise."
To find out why, the researchers in Kraus' Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory in Northwestern's School of Communication tested 18 musicians and 19 non-musicians aged 45 to 65 for speech in noise, auditory working memory, visual working memory and auditory temporal processing.
The musicians who began playing an instrument at age 9 or earlier and consistently played an instrument throughout their lives bested the non-musician group in all but visual working memory, where both groups showed nearly identical ability.
The experience of extracting meaningful sounds from a complex soundscape -- and of remembering sound sequences enhances the development of auditory skills, says Kraus, Hugh Knowles Chair in Communication Sciences.
"The neural enhancements we see in musically-trained individuals are not just an amplifying or 'volume knob' effect," says Kraus, who also is professor of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "Playing music engages their ability to extract relevant patterns, including the sound of their own instrument, harmonies and rhythms."
Music training "fine-tunes" the nervous system, according to Kraus, a longtime advocate of music in the K-12 curriculum. "Sound is the stock in trade of the musician in much the same way that a painter of portraits is keenly attuned to the visual attributes of the paint that will convey his or her subject," Kraus says.
"If the materials that you work with are sound, then it is reasonable to suppose that all of your faculties involved with taking it in, holding it in memory and relating physically to it should be sharpened," Kraus adds. "Music experience bolsters the elements that combat age-related communication problems."
Provided by
Northwestern University
-
Taking up music so you can hear
Aug 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Neuroscientist: Think twice about cutting music in schools
Feb 21, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Taking music seriously: How music training primes nervous system and boosts learning
Jul 20, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Report Says Musicians Hear Better Than Non-Musicians
Nov 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Musicians' Brains 'Fine-Tuned' to Identify Emotion
Mar 03, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Why is zone 1 in liver more prone to ischemic injury?
May 23, 2013
-
How can there be villous adenoma in colon, if there are no villi there
May 22, 2013
-
How can there be a term called "intestinal metaplasia" of stomach
May 21, 2013
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
May 18, 2013
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Study reveals new mechanism for estrogen suppression of liver lipid synthesis
By discovering the new mechanism by which estrogen suppresses lipid synthesis in the liver, UC Irvine endocrinologists have revealed a potential new approach toward treating certain liver diseases.
Medical research
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
MRI-based measurement helps predict vascular disease in the brain
Aortic arch pulse wave velocity, a measure of arterial stiffness, is a strong independent predictor of disease of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, according to a new study published in the June issue the journal ...
Medical research
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Antibiotics: A new understanding of sulfonamide nervous system side effects
Since the discovery of Prontosil in 1932, sulfonamide antibiotics have been used to combat a wide spectrum of bacterial infections, from acne to chlamydia and pneumonia. However, their side effects can include serious neurological ...
Medical research
19 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Scientists discover molecule triggers sensation of itch
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as ...
Medical research
19 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Discarded immune cells induce the relocation of stem cells
Spanish researchers have discovered that the daily clearance of neutrophils from the body stimulates the release of hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, according to a report published today ...
Medical research
21 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...
Help at hand for people with schizophrenia
How can healthy people who hear voices help schizophrenics? Finding the answer for this is at the centre of research conducted at the University of Bergen.
Scientists put bowel cancer under the microscope
Researchers from London's Kingston University have begun a two-year study which could help prolong the lives of people with colorectal tumours.
New neuron formation could increase capacity for new learning, at the expense of old memories
New research presented today shows that formation of new neurons in the hippocampus - a brain region known for its importance in learning and remembering - could cause forgetting of old memories by causing a reorganization ...
Are there atheists in foxholes? Study says they're the minority
Ernie Pyle – an iconic war correspondent in World War II – reportedly said "There are no atheists in foxholes." A new joint study between two brothers at Cornell and Virginia Wesleyan found that only ...
Breathing exercises help veterans find peace after war, scholar says
(Medical Xpress)—Research by Stanford scholar Emma Seppala at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education found that post-traumatic stress disorder decreased in veterans who participated ...
May 12, 2011
Rank: not rated yet
Forgive me, I'm a complete idiot when it comes to science.