A new study has shown that playing and practising an instrument frequently improves the memory and attention skills of young musicians.
The study found that musically-trained children performed better at attention and memory recall exercises, as well as having greater activation in brain regions related to attention control and auditory encoding.
Researchers in Chile tested the attention and working memory of 40 children between the ages of 10 and 13.
20 of them played an instrument, had had at least two years of lessons, practiced at least two hours a week and regularly played in an orchestra or ensemble.
A series of tests were performed on each participant and their brain activity was recorded using magnetic resonance imaging that detects small changes in blood flow.
The researchers found that two brain mechanisms worked better in children who regularly play an instrument.
“Brain regions that are more active include a working memory system involved in auditory processing, establishing auditory-motor connections, and tonal and verbal auditory working memory,” said Dr Leonie Kausel, a violinist and neuroscientist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the Universidad del Desarrollo Chile.
“It also helped with the fronto-parietal control network, a large-scale network composed of various brain regions that deals with executive function, goal-oriented, and cognitively-demanding tasks,” she added.
The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, and the full report can be viewed here.