Association Between Music Engagement and Episodic Memory Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis

Rouse, Hillary J; Jin, Ying Shu; Hueluer, Gizem; Huo, Meng; Bugos, Jennifer A.; Veal, Britney; Torres, Mia; Peterson, Lindsay; Dobbs, Debra; Meng, Hongdao

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbab044

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…While a recent large-scale study in middle-aged and older participants showed that people who engaged with music, including listening, singing, and playing an instrument performed better on an episodic memory task than musically naïve/inactive people ( Rouse et al, 2021 ), it seems plausible that 6 months of lessons is not sufficient to elicit improvements in this cognitive domain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six Months of Piano Training in Healthy Elderly Stabilizes White Matter Microstructure in the Fornix, Compared to an Active Control Group

Jünemann

Marié

Worschech³

et al. 2022

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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While aging is characterized by neurodegeneration, musical training is associated with experience-driven brain plasticity and protection against age-related cognitive decline. However, evidence for the positive effects of musical training mostly comes from cross-sectional studies while randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes are rare. The current study compares the influence of six months of piano training with music listening/musical culture lessons in 121 musically naïve healthy elderly individuals with regard to white matter properties using fixel-based analysis. Analyses revealed a significant fiber density decline in the music listening/musical culture group (but not in the piano group), after six months, in the fornix, which is a white matter tract that naturally declines with age. In addition, these changes in fiber density positively correlated to episodic memory task performances and the amount of weekly piano training. These findings not only provide further evidence for the involvement of the fornix in episodic memory encoding but also more importantly show that learning to play the piano at an advanced age may stabilize white matter microstructure of the fornix.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six Months of Piano Training in Healthy Elderly Stabilizes White Matter Microstructure in the Fornix, Compared to an Active Control Group

Jünemann

Marié

Worschech³

et al. 2022

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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“…Listening to music, singing, and playing an instrument improved episodic memory in healthy adults [34]. Elders using musical improvisation improved their verbal memory [13].…”

Section: Active Music Makingmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Cognitive gains with listening to music include improved verbal processing and increased speed of processing [15,39,72]; better memory [18,34,36,64,81] and gains in psychomotor speed and enhanced visuospatial functioning [39]. It is significant that all these executive skills are essential in preserving and enhancing cognitive function across the lifespan for healthy ageing.…”

Section: Receptive Musicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Neuroplasticity Is Urgent: Music and Dance for the UN/WHO Decade of Action for Healthy Ageing for All

Shaffer

2022

JAL

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This descriptive overview responds to a rising tide of reviews and RCTs which encourage evidence-based interventions from the first moments of life and across the life course that could increase the Flynn effect and improve global statistics on neurocognitive functioning with a healthspan that approximates longer lifespans. We need to learn more from our centenarians who achieve Healthy Ageing. Evolving neuroscience empowers us to drive neuroplasticity in a positive direction in ways that are associated with enhancing neurocognitive functioning across the entire lifespan for vigorous longevity. Music and Dance could meet these urgent needs in ways that also have physical, emotional, neurobiological, neurochemical, immunological, and social health benefits. Interventions using Music and Dance are likely to have high initial and ongoing use because people are more inclined to do what is fun, easy, free (or low cost), portable, and culturally adaptable.

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“…Paradoxically, previous evidence on the effects from singing on cognitive function in older adults is somewhat mixed, with some studies reporting singing-related benefits across a range of functions, episodic memory included (Rouse et al, 2022), and some no cognitive effects (Feng et al, 2020;Johnson et al, 2020)…”

Section: Corpus Callosum Fornix and Memory At Older Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous evidence suggests that engagement in leisure activities, such as music, may contribute to the preservation of brain health and enhance specific cognitive functioning, including processing speed, episodic memory, and executive function in healthy ageing (Román-Caballero et al, 2018;Rouse et al, 2022;Tremblay & Perron, 2023; for review, see also Sutcliffe et al, 2020) and in mild cognitive impairment (Doi et al, 2017;Dorris et al, 2021). Additionally, such activities have been shown to potentially reduce the risk of dementia (Arafa et al, 2022;Verghese et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choir singing is associated with enhanced structural connectivity across the adult lifespan

Moisseinen,

Ahveninen,

Martínez‐Molina

et al. 2024

Human Brain Mapping

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The global ageing of populations calls for effective, ecologically valid methods to support brain health across adult life. Previous evidence suggests that music can promote white matter (WM) microstructure and grey matter (GM) volume while supporting auditory and cognitive functioning and emotional well‐being as well as counteracting age‐related cognitive decline. Adding a social component to music training, choir singing is a popular leisure activity among older adults, but a systematic account of its potential to support healthy brain structure, especially with regard to ageing, is currently missing. The present study used quantitative anisotropy (QA)‐based diffusion MRI connectometry and voxel‐based morphometry to explore the relationship of lifetime choir singing experience and brain structure at the whole‐brain level. Cross‐sectional multiple regression analyses were carried out in a large, balanced sample (N = 95; age range 21–88) of healthy adults with varying levels of choir singing experience across the whole age range and within subgroups defined by age (young, middle‐aged, and older adults). Independent of age, choir singing experience was associated with extensive increases in WM QA in commissural, association, and projection tracts across the brain. Corroborating previous work, these overlapped with language and limbic networks. Enhanced corpus callosum microstructure was associated with choir singing experience across all subgroups. In addition, choir singing experience was selectively associated with enhanced QA in the fornix in older participants. No associations between GM volume and choir singing were found. The present study offers the first systematic account of amateur‐level choir singing on brain structure. While no evidence for counteracting GM atrophy was found, the present evidence of enhanced structural connectivity coheres well with age‐typical structural changes. Corroborating previous behavioural studies, the present results suggest that regular choir singing holds great promise for supporting brain health across the adult life span.

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Association Between Music Engagement and Episodic Memory Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Six Months of Piano Training in Healthy Elderly Stabilizes White Matter Microstructure in the Fornix, Compared to an Active Control Group

Six Months of Piano Training in Healthy Elderly Stabilizes White Matter Microstructure in the Fornix, Compared to an Active Control Group

Enhancing Neuroplasticity Is Urgent: Music and Dance for the UN/WHO Decade of Action for Healthy Ageing for All

Choir singing is associated with enhanced structural connectivity across the adult lifespan

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