An association between learning an instrument and gaining mental clarity with age.Although rocker teenagers are sometimes mocked, study shows that their intellectual prowess should encourage us.
The University of Edinburgh researchers discovered that people with more musical instrument playing expertise demonstrated superior cognitive abilities over others without this experience.
Professor Emeritus Ian Deary, who formerly served as the director of the university’s Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, argued that the association was tenuous and did not demonstrate a causal connection.
However, he continued, it was crucial to investigate minor factors that support a healthier ageing of the brain in order to build on the findings.
Out of the 366 study participants, 117 had some prior musical instrument expertise, with the piano being the most popular choice.People underwent numerous functional examinations and retook the standardised cognitive ability test they had completed at age 11.
The test assessed verbal reasoning, numerical analysis, and spatial awareness, among other things.The advantages of playing an instrument were discovered to be modest but discernible.
