Individuals with either a musical
or bilingual background activated
different brain networks when
completing the task, and showed
less brain activity than people
who only spoke one language or
didn't have formal musical training,
according to the study.
Musicians and bilingual individuals
have long been shown to have
a better working memory – the
ability to keep things in mind, such
as remembering a phone number, a
list of instructions, or doing mental
math. But it remains a mystery
why this is the case.
"These findings show that
musicians and bilinguals require
less effort to perform the same
task, which could also protect
them against cognitive decline and
delay the onset of dementia," says
Dr. Claude Alain, lead researcher
on the project and Senior Scientist
at the Rotman Research Institute.
"Our results also demonstrated
that a person's experiences,
whether it's learning how to play
a musical instrument or another
language, can shape how the
brain functions and which
networks are used."
Following up on this work,
researchers are exploring the
impact of art and musical training
among adults to see if this leads
to changes to the brain that
could be used to maintain brain
health as people age.
This research was supported
by the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research and the Natural
Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada.
The power of
music and a
second language
Whether you learn to play a musical instrument
or speak another language, you're training
your brain to be more efficient. Now, Baycrest
researchers have found that musicians and
bilingual individuals utilize fewer brain resources
when completing a working memory task.
2017–2018 YEAR IN REVIEW 13
Visit us online to learn more
about Dr. Claude Alain and other
RRI scientists here.
