How Music Shapes Brain Anatomy and Function

A recent study shows how music affects both the structure and function of different regions of the brain and how those regions communicate during the creation of music to interpret different sensory information.

The findings suggest the following, many of which could suggest alternative teaching methods and possibly disability treatments, via a press release:

• Long-term high level musical training has a broader impact than previously thought. Researchers found that musicians have an enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from hearing, touch, and sight (Julie Roy, abstract 550.13, see attached summary).
• The age at which musical training begins affects brain anatomy as an adult; beginning training before the age of seven has the greatest impact (Yunxin Wang, abstract 765.07 see attached summary).
• Brain circuits involved in musical improvisation are shaped by systematic training, leading to less reliance on working memory and more extensive connectivity within the brain (Ana Pinho, MS, abstract 122.13, see attached summary).

As some of the brain changes occur from musical changes that reflect the automation of task, according to background information from the study, the high specification of sensorimotor and cognitive skills require various aspects of musical expertise.

"Playing a musical instrument is a multisensory and motor experience that creates emotions and motions - from finger tapping to dancing - and engages pleasure and reward systems in the brain. It has the potential to change brain function and structure when done over a long period of time," said press conference moderator Gottfried Schlaug, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an expert on music, neuroimaging and brain plasticity, via the release. "As today's findings show, intense musical training generates new processes within the brain, at different stages of life, and with a range of impacts on creativity, cognition, and learning."

More information regarding the study can be found via the Society of Neuroscience.