Duke University’s scientists have shown that music classes or learning languages help create a cognitive reserve, which is associated with a decrease in the risk of development of neuropathologists in the brain of an aging person. This is reported in the article published in the magazine Brain Sciences.
Experts analyzed the white substance using diffusion-tensor visualization. This approach allows you to obtain information on the links between the various parts of the brain and the integrity of conductive paths, such as beams of nerve fibers. Typically, normal aging leads to a decrease in the integrity of the white substance, however, complex sensor activity (for example, possession of several languages or music) can slow down and even reverse this process.
Neurobiologists conducted a brain scanning of eight musicians aged 20-67 years, which practiced an average of three hours a day. This made it possible to calculate the fractional anisotropy (Fa) – the value that characterizes the amount and orientation of the conductive brain-conducting paths. The high value of the FA corresponds to the high cognitive brain reserve, however, with age, it decreases, which was shown for people who do not engage in music. However, in the case of musicians, the integrity of conductive paths not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased in both hemispheres.
Previous studies focused on structural and functional changes in the human brain, also showed that the bilingualism and development of musical abilities are able to slow down aging and deterioration of cognitive functions.