Living longer often comes with changes in cognitive abilities, and working memory is among the mental skills most vulnerable to age related decline. Researchers have long believed that both physical exercise and mentally stimulating activities can help support brain health as people grow older.
Two brain regions that commonly shrink and become less active with age are the putamen and the cerebellum. Interestingly, neuroscience studies have also identified these same areas as being particularly responsive to musical instrument training. However, much of the existing research has focused on younger people or individuals who began playing music during childhood.
Long Term Effects of Learning an Instrument
To explore whether older adults could gain similar benefits, researchers at Kyoto University examined what happens when people take up a musical instrument later in life.
The team had previously reported that older adults who practiced a musical instrument for the first time over a four month period showed improvements in memory performance and putamen function. Encouraged by those findings, the researchers wanted to determine whether the benefits could last over the long term.
