Musical training improves your brain capacity and staves off cognitive decline
In 2014, a group of neuroscientists examined the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or “brain games,” for improving cognition.
This international group of more than 70 scientists claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline.
Catherine Loveday is a neuropsychologist of the University of Westminster.
Her particular area of expertise lies in cognitive assessment (especially memory and executive function). She also studies the general perceptual, cognitive and affective processing that occurs in response to exposure to music and has carried out a number of studies looking at the cognitive and neuronal aspects of music processing.
According to The Guardian, Catherine Loveday explains:
“Music probably does something unique.
It stimulates the brain in a very powerful way,
because of our emotional connection with it.”
“Music reaches parts of the brain that other things can’t,” says Loveday.
“It’s a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does,
and the evidence that musical training
enhances things like working memory and language is very robust.”
Brain is like a muscle that needs to be flexed regularly to stay healthy.
Research shows that musical training is a good way to reduce risk of developing forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, and what’s more, it can have a dramatic impact on your brain’s structure, enhancing your memory, spatial reasoning and language skills.
See also how music helped man with Alzheimer's Disease.
