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Rotman Research Institute: Year In Review 2017-2018

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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.

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