Music Making and Neuropsychological Aging: A Review

Sutcliffe, Ryan; Du, Kangning; Ruffman, Ted

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.03.026

Cited by 37 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 158 publications

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“…Our results are consistent with previous works suggesting that adult musicians outperformed control subjects in standardized cognitive tasks (Fauvel et al, 2013;Schlaug, 2015;Sutcliffe et al, 2020) but a lifespan approach was never adopted in anterior studies. In fact, "previous work has focused on younger musicians or older musicians whereas our sample had a very wide age range (from 18 to 84 years), allowing us to study practitioners" cognitive differences throughout the lifespan.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Therefore, promoting access to artistic practice could help people maintaining or even improving their cognition, besides the obvious and well-documented interest such activities have on socialization ( Belgrave, 2011 ); well-being ( Noice et al, 2004 ; Castora-Binkley et al, 2010 ) and developing creativity ( Salimpoor and Zatorre, 2013 ; Reynolds et al, 2016 ). In line with the evidence reviewed by Sutcliffe et al (2020) on music training and cognition on aging, our study suggests that musical or theatrical practices, even started late in life, could have an effect on cognitive decline. Ferreira et al (2015) suggested associations between specific activities and the functioning of individual cognitive domains.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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Do Musicians Have Better Mnemonic and Executive Performance Than Actors? Influence of Regular Musical or Theater Practice in Adults and in the Elderly

Groussard

Coppalle

Hinault

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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The effects of musical practice on cognition are well established yet rarely compared with other kinds of artistic training or expertise. This study aims to compare the possible effect of musical and theater regular practice on cognition across the lifespan. Both of these artistic activities require many hours of individual or collective training in order to reach an advanced level. This process requires the interaction between higher-order cognitive functions and several sensory modalities (auditory, verbal, visual and motor), as well as regular learning of new pieces. This study included participants with musical or theater practice, and healthy controls matched for age (18-84 years old) and education. The objective was to determine whether specific practice in these activities had an effect on cognition across the lifespan, and a protective influence against undesirable cognitive outcomes associated with aging. All participants underwent a battery of cognitive tasks that evaluated processing speed, executive function, fluency, working memory, verbal and visual long-term memories, and non-verbal reasoning abilities. Results showed that music and theater artistic practices were strongly associated with cognitive enhancements. Participants with musical practice were better in executive functioning, working memory and non-verbal reasoning, whereas participants with regular acting practice had better long-term verbal memory and fluency performance. Thus, taken together, results suggest a differential effect of these artistic practices on cognition across the lifespan. Advanced age did not seem to reduce the benefit, so future studies should focus on the hypothetical protective effects of artistic practice against cognitive decline.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Do Musicians Have Better Mnemonic and Executive Performance Than Actors? Influence of Regular Musical or Theater Practice in Adults and in the Elderly

Groussard

Coppalle

Hinault

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…The potential contribution of musical experience to cognitive and mental health in later life has attracted recent scientific investigation as well as media and public interest. Learning to play a musical instrument is a cognitively stimulating activity that might increase resilience to agerelated brain pathologies in later life [4]. There is evidence from reviews of mostly cross-sectional observational studies [5][6][7], that older people with experience playing a musical instrument (either currently or in the past) [8,9], are likely to perform better on tests of cognitive ability than their musically untrained counterparts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to quantity of musical training and experience, questionnaires can assess the characteristics of that training, including the age an individual first started learning (onset of musical training); which period(s) in their life they engaged in regular practice and performance; whether they played, rehearsed or performed regularly as part of a group, ensemble or band; and the instrument(s) they played. Reviews of the literature on musical training and cognitive ability [4,6,20], have highlighted the above listed variables as potential moderators of the association between musical training and cognitive performance. Studies that assess both the quantity and characteristics of musical training and experience will thus be well positioned to identify the conditions under which such training might be most potentially beneficial for older adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Edinburgh Lifetime Musical Experience Questionnaire (ELMEQ): Responses and non-musical correlates in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2021

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There is growing evidence of the potential effects of musical training on the human brain, as well as increasing interest in the potential contribution of musical experience to healthy ageing. Conducting research on these topics with older adults requires a comprehensive assessment of musical experience across the lifespan, as well as an understanding of which variables might correlate with musical training and experience (such as personality traits or years of education). The present study introduces a short questionnaire for assessing lifetime musical training and experience in older populations: the Edinburgh Lifetime Musical Experience Questionnaire (ELMEQ). 420 participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 completed the ELMEQ at a mean age of 82 years. We used their responses to the ELMEQ to address three objectives: 1) to report the prevalence of lifetime musical experience in a sample of older adults; 2) to demonstrate how certain item-level responses can be used to model latent variables quantifying experience in different musical domains (playing a musical instrument, singing, self-reported musical ability, and music listening); and 3) to examine non-musical (lifespan) correlates of these domains. In this cohort, 420 of 431 participants (97%) completed the questionnaire. 40% of participants reported some lifetime experience of playing a musical instrument, starting at a median age of 10 years and playing for a median of 5 years. 38% of participants reported some lifetime experience of singing in a group. Non-musical variables of childhood environment, years of education, childhood cognitive ability, female sex, extraversion, history of arthritis and fewer constraints on activities of daily living were found to be associated, variously, with the domains of playing a musical instrument, singing, self-reported musical ability, and music listening. The ELMEQ was found to be an effective research tool with older adults and is made freely available for future research.

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The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK ageing cohort

Vetere,

Williams,

Ballard

et al. 2024

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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BackgroundThe accumulation of age‐associated cognitive deficits can lead to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia. This is a major public health issue for the modern ageing population, as it impairs health, independence and overall quality of life. Keeping the brain active during life has been associated with an increased cognitive reserve, therefore reducing the risk of cognitive impairment in older age. Previous research has identified a potential relationship between musicality and cognition.ObjectivesExplore the relationship between musicality and cognitive function in a large cohort of older adults.MethodsThis was a nested study within the PROTECT‐UK cohort, which collects longitudinal computerised assessments of cognitive function in adults over 40. Participants were invited to complete the validated Edinburgh Lifetime Musical Experience Questionnaire (ELMEQ) to assess their musical experience and lifetime exposure to music. Linear regression analysis was performed using cognitive data from PROTECT‐UK.ResultsAnalysis identified an association between musicality and cognition in this cohort. Playing a musical instrument was associated with significantly better performance in working memory and executive function. Significant associations were also found between singing and executive function, and between overall musical ability and working memory.ConclusionsOur findings confirm previous literature, highlighting the potential value of education and engagement in musical activities throughout life as a means of harnessing cognitive reserve as part of a protective lifestyle for brain health.

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Music Making and Neuropsychological Aging: A Review

Cited by 37 publications

References 158 publications

Do Musicians Have Better Mnemonic and Executive Performance Than Actors? Influence of Regular Musical or Theater Practice in Adults and in the Elderly

Do Musicians Have Better Mnemonic and Executive Performance Than Actors? Influence of Regular Musical or Theater Practice in Adults and in the Elderly

The Edinburgh Lifetime Musical Experience Questionnaire (ELMEQ): Responses and non-musical correlates in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK ageing cohort

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