The brain and musical training
Figure 6: This set of diagrams and graphs show the difference in size of the Planum temporale and the Heschl’s gyrus in the left (blue) and right (red) hemisphere’s. The graphs below show the grey matter volume of each individual area and also provides a comparison of the GM volume in the HG and the PT as a ratio. The results show that the HP group has the highest HG:PT ratio and that the group of children with AD(H)D have the lowest HG:PT ratio. 13
The enduring effects of musical training in later life
As shown above, there is a lot of evidence that suggests musical training at an early age leads to plastic changes in the brain, which inmany cases, also shows higher performance inmany tasks. But how long do these changes benefit us? In 2012, a study by E. Skoe and N. Krausfound found as little as 3 years of proper musical training during childhood was enough to fundamentally alter the nervous system such that the changes remained observable 7 years after training had ceased. Findings from this also show that exposure to noise and limited acoustic diversity during childhood will cause negative impacts such as reduced neural synchrony. In their results, they also state that ‘ neural changes may be more long- lasting when enriched sensory experiences require active interaction with sound, such as occurs when playing a musical instrument ’ . 14 This implies widespread and long-term beneficial impacts resultant of musical training, as it exercises a large portion of the brain by incorporating many sensual operations. Furthermore, the results of a 2013 study by T. White-Schowch et al. provide evidence that the effects of musical training in early life lasts even longer. The observed adults in this investigation had all stopped training for around 40 years and a strong correlation between better performance and longer duration of training could still be seen. They found that adults with themost past musical training had the fastest neural timing. This translates to better response to speech in noisy environments and improved ability to differentiate sounds quickly. Due to the timescale of both studies, lifestyle factors could influence results, although not in a way that would invalidate the conclusion of the studies. 15
13 Taken from: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/33/10937. 14 Taken from: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/33/10937 Skoe, E. and Kraus, N. A Little Goes a Long Way: How the Adult Brain Is Shaped by Musical Training in Childhood https://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/34/1150 ( 11/07/20 ). 15 White-Schwoch, T., Carr, K., Anderson, S., Strait, D. and Kraus, N. Older Adults Benefit fromMusic Training Early
in Life: Biological Evidence for Long-Term Training-Driven Plasticity https://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/45/17667 ( 11/07/20 ).
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