Theories abound about the cognitive advantages of playing the piano or violin early in life, and recent research says it could also help children to focus, control their emotions and reduce their anxiety.
The findings indicate that playing music should be considered, among its other benefits, as an outlet to help children handle psychological disorders.
"We treat things that result from negative things, but we never try to use positive things as treatment," says lead author James Hudziak, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families.
In what the research team calls "the largest investigation of the association between playing a musical instrument and brain development," 232 children ages 6 to 18 underwent MRI brain scans.
When assessing the scans, the team was interested in the images of the cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain.
As children grow older, patterns of cortical thickening and thinning can indicate levels of anxiety, depression, attention problems, aggression and behavior problems even in children without a diagnosis, according to prior research by lead author James Hudziak, MD.
With this new study, Dr. Hudziak's goal was to see if musical training could alter these patterns and, indeed, results say it can.
Playing music alters the motor areas of the brain, which Dr. Hudziak says he expected due to the coordination it requires.
Most importantly, Dr. Hudziak found evidence from the scans that playing music changes the behavior-regulating areas of the brain, thickening the part of the cortex that controls executive functioning.
This area is responsible for working memory, attention control and organizational skills.
Another area in which musical training thickens the cortex is that which plays a critical role in inhibitory control and the processing of certain emotions, according to the study.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Thu Dec 25 2014
In what the research team calls "the largest investigation of the association between playing a musical instrument and brain development," 232 children ages 6 to 18 underwent MRI brain scans. - AFPRelax Photo
Menteri Indonesia bincang isu pekerja migran dengan rakan sejawat dari Malaysia
Fauziyah harap Steven akan membawa penambahbaikan kepada dasar berkaitan tenaga kerja Indonesia.
Pahang peruntuk RM1.5 juta bantuan tunai bakal jemaah haji
Sebanyak 1,588 jemaah haji Pahang menerima sumbangan 'duit poket' berjumlah RM750 seorang bagi membantu meringankan beban bakal haji dalam melakukan persiapan melaksanakan rukun Islam kelima itu.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Pengundi jangan mudah percaya taktik fitnah - Ramanan
Ramanan berkata pengundi perlu lebih berhati-hati, dan sentiasa menyemak fakta apabila mendengar kempen politik yang dilakukan pihak lawan.
KEDA berhasrat tanam padi wangi, padi huma tahun ini
Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah Kedah (KEDA) berhasrat membangunkan tanaman padi wangi dan padi huma di beberapa kawasan pertanian dalam wilayahnya, tahun ini.
Mesyuarat perundingan Enam Pihak Arab bincangkan perkembangan di Gaza
Mesyuarat perundingan Jawatankuasa Enam Pihak Arab itu membincangkan perkembangan serangan Israel ke atas Semenanjung Gaza.
Chegubard didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen KL esok - Peguam
Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau dikenali Chegubard akan didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur esok atas pertuduhan memfitnah dan menghasut.
Pulau Pinang, kerajaan pusat bekerjasama tarik pelaburan semikonduktor
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk meneruskan usaha menarik pelaburan dalam sektor semikonduktor, termasuk segmen reka bentuk litar bersepadu (IC) di negeri itu.
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara
Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai “duta” untuk mempromosikan produk perusahaan mikro kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) SERTA koperasi negara.
Mohamed Khaled tiba di Indonesia, dijadual bertemu Prabowo
Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tiba di Jakarta hari ini untuk lawatan kerja rasmi sulung beliau ke Indonesia sejak memegang jawatan itu.
SPRM mohon maklumat dari Jerman
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memohon maklumat terkini daripada pihak berkuasa Jerman mengenai dana bon 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang dipercayai digunakan untuk membeli kereta mewah di negara itu pada 26 Okt 2022.