Playing an Instrument Could Protect Against Cognitive Aging, Study Reveals

[erronis]

https://scitechdaily.com/playing-an-instrument-could-protect-against-cognitive-aging-study-reveals/

Older musicians exhibit brain activity patterns during speech perception that resemble those typically seen in younger individuals.

A recent study published in PLOS Biology suggests that playing music for many years may help older adults retain their ability to understand speech in noisy environments. The research, led by Claude Alain of the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education in Canada and Yi Du of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, points to enhanced cognitive reserve as a possible explanation.

As people grow older, they often experience a gradual decline in both sensory and mental abilities. These changes in how we perceive and process information are frequently linked to increased brain activity and stronger connections between different areas of the brain. This heightened activity, known as functional connectivity (the statistical relationship in activity across brain regions), is believed to act as a form of compensation. Essentially, the brain recruits extra resources to help older adults perform cognitive tasks more effectively.

Certain lifestyle habits, such as learning music, achieving higher levels of education, or speaking more than one language, can build what scientists call cognitive and brain reserve. This refers to the mental and neurological assets developed over time, which may delay or soften the effects of aging on the brain. According to Cognitive Reserve Theory, people who build up these reserves through life experience tend to perform better mentally as they age. However, researchers still debate how exactly these accumulated benefits from positive lifestyle choices affect the brain’s functioning in older adults.

. . .

Reference: “Long-term musical training can protect against age-related upregulation of neural activity in speech-in-noise perception” by Lei Zhang, Bernhard Ross, Yi Du and Claude Alain, 15 July 2025, PLOS Biology.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003247

[Silent Type]

1. Do I have to play well?

[erronis]

2. Personally, I hope not! Years of piano lessons and still dinking at the keys.

I wish I hadn't been trained by having to read sheet music (Chopin mainly). I bet those that play from the heart with creativity have better cognitive outcomes.

[Silent Type]

3. Same hre with stringed instruments.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. I wouldn't think that is needed. I think it is about learning.

Experienced players are always learning, just at a higher level.

I think it is like exercise: doing it is more important than doing it skillfully.

[usonian]

5. Several articles report that that "Even old brains can make new neurons, study suggests"

One. here (popsci, sorry)
https://www.popsci.com/health/adult-brains-make-neurons-study/

Until the late 20th century, the prevailing view in neuroscience was that, past childhood, humans stop making neurons, brain-wide. What we have in adolescence, is what we get, and all we can do is lose cells or reorganize them. However, the latest research adds to a mounting body of evidence finding that the timeline of neuron generation isn’t so clear-cut.

In at least two parts of the brain, a subset of neuroscientists believe that neurons may continue to form throughout life–the hippocampus and the ventral striatum. In the hippocampus, a critical brain region for learning and memory, new cells emerge in some people into late adulthood, according to a study published July 3 in the journal Science. The findings tip the scales in a still-active debate over how our brains continue to develop throughout life. A better understanding of adult neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons), and a firm answer to if and where it occurs, could help improve treatments for neurological diseases as well as normal aging.

My theory is that playing an instrument engages cognitive function (reading), motor function (playing) and senses (hearing). (entirely unscientific terminology, what the heck?) Working together --- that's a big deal.

I know it when I do it. It's a challenge (good for everyone) and a blast.

In fact, I developed near-perfect pitch over time, something that is said to belong only to young people. (It's on and off, but it often works).

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT. (sorta)
Many performers and conductors lived very long lives, remaining "sharp".

[TomSlick]

6. If you played in school band "back in the day," there is a nationwide organization call New Horizons

for people that what to get back on the instrument.

https://newhorizonsmusic.org/

Scroll down to the bottom to find a group near you.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Thanks for that ! nt

[TomSlick]

10. My pleasure.

Contact a New Horizons group. Then find your old instrument and give it a good cleaning. (There was stuff growing in my trombone when I pulled it from under the bed.)

It will be fun and good for your mental health.

[lastlib]

7. Does an air guitar count?

Asking for a friend. It's the only musical talent he has.

[erronis]

8. If "your friend" can hear the notes, it appears that the brain is well challenged enough.