Music would have a positive impact on aging by acting on memory and motor skills according to researchers who presented their work at a conference of Sacem, the society of authors and composers.
If empirically scientists thought that the “right” brain was a musician and the “left” brain that of language, the work of Hervé Patel, professor of neuropsychology and researcher at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) established the actions of music on the brain. “Music does not activate one zone, but several regions of the brain”, explains Hervé Platel.
Emmanuel Bigand directs at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) a research unit specializing in the link between music and cognition (knowledge processes, memory, reasoning, language).
Using brain neuroimaging, the researchers found that “in musicians, music increases the hippocampus, an area of the brain particularly involved in memory. »
“Music transforms the brain by increasing certain areas and this process is beneficial for all other human activities” says Emmanuel Bigand.
During this symposium, France Mourey, specialist in the effects of aging on motor skills, explains that “during therapeutic experiences, music helps Alzheimer’s patients who suffer from very disabling motor disorders to maintain their balance and motor skills.”
“For victims of brain damage, Alzheimer’s patients, Parkinson’s patients, music can be an asset”, suggests Emmanuel Bigand. “But before using music as medicine with a dose effect, there is still a lot of work to do,” concludes Hervé Platel.
The benefits of music often demonstrated
The benefits of music have often been demonstrated by numerous scientific studies.
According to researchers at Northwestern University (United States), playing music during childhood slows down cognitive decline in adulthood. A Finnish study claimed that “Having the fetus listen to music helped it develop its brain and memory and that prenatal sensitization of the fetus to music stimulated its brain development and long-lasting memory. »
The Institute of Education at the University of London published a study which revealed that ” classical music has a positive influence on children’s concentration, their self-discipline and even their social behavior”.
