Music is reportedly therapeutic. The most recent research demonstrates that music and mental acuity are related. A study from the University of Edinburgh found a connection between early musical experience and mental acuity later in life, The Guardian reported.
The study, which was supported by Age UK and the Economic and Social Research Council, was published in the journal Psychological Science.
The relationship between youth and better (or improved) mental abilities in old age has been investigated by researchers.
According to the study, those who had more musical experience performed better on a test of cognitive ability than those who had less or no musical experience.
The paper also said that their socioeconomic level, years of education, early cognitive development, and later health are all influenced by their exposure to music.
Meanwhile, emeritus Professor Ian Deary, said: ‘We have to emphasise that the association we found between instrument-playing and lifetime cognitive improvement was small and that we cannot prove that the former caused the latter.’
‘However, as we and others search for the many small effects that might contribute toward some people’s brains ageing more healthily than others, these results are worth following up,’ added Deary, who is a former director of the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the university.
The participants in the study underwent testing on a variety of physical and mental abilities as they aged. Even the standardised cognitive ability exam that each participant took when they were 11 years old was retaken as part of the study. The tests covered numerical analysis, spatial awareness, and verbal reasoning.
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