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Do older professional musicians have cognitive advantages?

Tarek Amer1, Beste Kalender, Lynn Hasher

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. tarek.amer@utoronto.ca

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|August 14, 2013
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Summary

Long-term music training enhances cognitive abilities in older adults. Musicians showed better auditory processing, spatial memory, and cognitive control compared to non-musicians, suggesting music practice benefits brain function.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Aging Research

Background:

  • Cognitive decline is a concern in aging.
  • The impact of lifelong activities like music on cognition is under investigation.
  • Understanding factors that support cognitive health in older adults is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between long-term music training and cognitive functions in older adults.
  • To compare cognitive performance in professional musicians versus age- and education-matched non-musicians.
  • To investigate music's potential role in near-transfer (auditory processing) and far-transfer (spatial span, cognitive control) cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

  • Comparison of professional musicians and non-musicians.
  • Matching participants on age, education, vocabulary, and general health.
  • Assessment using auditory processing tasks (near-transfer) and spatial span/cognitive control tasks (far-transfer).

Main Results:

  • Musicians demonstrated superior performance on auditory processing tasks.
  • Musicians generally outperformed non-musicians on far-transfer tasks, including spatial span and cognitive control.
  • A composite measure of cognitive control also favored the musician group.

Conclusions:

  • Sustained music training and engagement are linked to enhanced cognitive functioning in older adults.
  • Music practice may contribute to maintaining or improving specific cognitive abilities, such as auditory processing and executive functions, later in life.
  • These findings highlight music as a potential lifestyle factor for supporting cognitive health in aging populations.