Progressive cognitive decline is associated with normal aging. However, can we train our brains to suspend this process? A team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), HES-SO Geneva and EPFL found that exercising and listening to music can slow cognitive decline by increasing gray matter production in healthy seniors. Researchers followed more than 100 retirees who had never played music before to obtain these results.
For six months, he was enrolled in piano and musical awareness classes. These findings open new avenues to promote healthy ageing. They were published in Neuroimage: Reports. Throughout our lives, our brains rewire themselves. Brain morphology and connections change according to environment and experiences, for example when we learn new skills or overcome the consequences of a stroke. However, this ‘plasticity of the brain’ declines as we age. The brain also loses gray matter, where our precious neurons are located. This is known as ‘brain atrophy’. Gradually, a cognitive decline appears.
Working memory, at the core of many cognitive processes, is one of the most commonly afflicted cognitive functions. Working memory is defined as the process by which we briefly retain and manipulate information to achieve a goal, such as remembering a telephone number over a long period of time or learning a foreign language. translate the sentence A study led by UNIGE, HES-SO Geneva and EPFL has shown that practicing and actively listening to music can prevent working memory decline. Such activities promoted brain plasticity; they were associated with an increase in gray matter volume.
Positive effects on working memory have also been measured. The study was conducted among 132 healthy retirees aged 62 to 78. A condition for participation was that he had not taken any music lessons for more than six months in his life.
practicing music vs listening to music
“We wanted people whose brains had yet to show any trace of the plasticity associated with music learning. In fact, even a brief learning experience during one’s life can leave an imprint on the brain, which would bias our results.” “, telling. Damien Marie, first author of the study, is a research associate at the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and UNIGE’s Interfaculty Center for Affective Sciences (CISA), as well as at the Geneva School of Health Sciences.
The participants were randomly assigned to two groups regardless of their motivation to play the instrument. The second group had active listening lessons, which focused on instrument recognition and analysis of musical qualities across a wide range of musical styles. Classes lasted for an hour. Participants in both groups had to do half an hour of homework every day.
positive effect on both groups
“After six months, we found general effects for both interventions. Neuroimaging revealed increases in gray matter in four brain regions involved in high-level cognitive functioning in all participants, including cerebellum regions involved in working memory. Their performance increased by 6% and this result was directly related to the plasticity of the cerebellum,” says Clara James, last author of the study, a Private-Doctor at UNIGE’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences and Full Professor at the Geneva School of Health Sciences.
The scientists also found that the quality of sleep, the number of lessons during the intervention, and the amount of daily training had a positive effect on the degree of improvement in performance. However, the researchers also found a difference between the two groups. In the pianists, gray matter volume remained stable in the right primary auditory cortex – a key area for sound processing, while it decreased in the active listening group.
“In addition, a global brain pattern of atrophy was present in all participants. Therefore, we cannot conclude that music interventions rejuvenate the brain. They only prevent aging in specific areas,” Damien Marie They say. These results suggest that exercising and listening to music can boost brain plasticity and cognitive reserve. The study authors believe that these playful and accessible interventions should be a major policy priority for healthy ageing. The next step for the team is to evaluate the potential of these interventions in people with mild cognitive impairment, an intermediate stage between normal aging and dementia.