Learning a musical instrument changes brain waves in a way that improves a person’s hearing and cognitive skills over a short period of time. This change in brain activity demonstrates the brain’s ability to re-wire itself and compensate for injuries or illnesses that can hinder a person’s ability to perform tasks, according to the results of a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. This finding could lead to the development of cerebral rehabilitation interventions through musical training.
Researchers at the Baycrest Center for Geriatric Care in Canada conducted a study with 32 healthy young adults with normal hearing and no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. The participants’ brain waves were first recorded as they listened to bell sounds from a Tibetan singing bowl (a small bell struck with a wooden mallet to create sounds). After listening to the recording, half of the participants received this instrument and had to recreate the same sounds and rhythm by hitting it. The other half recreated the sounds by pressing the keys on a computer keyboard.
Music stimulates the brain
Researchers first found direct changes in the brain right after a session, suggesting that playing music causes a background change in brain activity.
“Music is known to have beneficial effects on the brain, but its understanding is limited,” said Dr. Bernhard Ross, a researcher at the Rotman Research Institute in Baycrest (RRI) and lead author of the study. “This is the first study to show that learning the movement necessary to reproduce sound on an instrument alters the brain’s perception of sound in a way that is not observed when listening to music.” .
The next steps of the study will analyze the recovery of patients withStrokewith musical training and the impact of musical training on the brain of the elderly.
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