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

Abstract

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.

Structural Neuroplasticity Effects of Singing in Chronic Aphasia

“…Furthermore, MIT, a singing-based intervention for treating nonfluent aphasia, has been shown to improve connected speech, naming, and repetition ( Sparks et al, 1974 ; Van Der Meulen et al, 2014 ; Zumbansen et al, 2014 ) and linking the positive effects to temporal and frontal speech motor areas, either in the left ( Belin et al, 1996 ; Breier et al, 2011 ) or right ( Schlaug et al, 2008 ; Wan et al, 2014 ; Tabei et al, 2016 ) hemisphere. In the healthy older adults, regular singing has recently been linked to enhanced executive function ( Pentikäinen et al, 2021 ; Vetere et al, 2024 ), frontotemporal auditory functioning ( Pentikäinen et al, 2022 ), structural connectivity ( Perron et al, 2021 ), and structural plasticity in auditory and dorsal speech regions ( Perron et al, 2022 ), suggesting that it may have neuroprotective effects in aging.…”