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The benefits of music on the brain are no longer in doubt. But are they as powerful at an advanced age, given that aging is inevitably accompanied by a more or less significant decrease in cognitive performance? This could well be the case, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One.
Aging brings a number of physical and cognitive changes, even in individuals without any medical conditions. Older people often worry about forgetting where their keys are or the title of a movie they recently saw on TV. But Canadian researchers say these lapses are less likely to occur when it comes to music. They found that older people are just as good as younger people at remembering tunes they’ve heard before.
Scientists found proof of this after conducting an experiment during a Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra concert, and another in a laboratory. About a hundred volunteers, aged 20 to 80, were asked to listen to three different musical excerpts. It was the serenade “A little night music” by Mozart and two pieces specially designed for the needs of this study. One was tonal, that is, composed of a succession of chords that provoke in the listener an impression of resolution; while the other was atonal, and therefore more surprising to listen to. During the experiment, the participants had to press a button as soon as they heard a musical theme that seemed familiar to them.
It turns out that older people were just as capable as younger people at identifying different musical themes. They were more able to recognize the rhythmic pattern of Mozart’s “A Little Night Music” than that of both tonal and atonal music, as were their younger counterparts.Overall, we found that age doesn’t really affect the ability to recognize a theme in a piece of music.“, the researchers say in their article.
The findings of this study suggest that musical memories are retained in our brains for a long time. They seem to be more resistant to brain aging, which would explain why people with Alzheimer’s disease have no difficulty remembering songs they learned in their youth.
So you should try as hard as possible to strengthen your musical memory throughout your life, by listening to music or playing an instrument. And know that there is no age to get started. It has been proven that people who start practicing music as adults benefit cognitively, just like those who learned to play an instrument when they were younger.
Slideshow: The benefits of music on our brain