More Than Just a Hobby, Music Helps Cognitive Growth

Going to concerts and playing instruments are fun diversions, but these activities can also have positive effects on cognitive ability. New studies suggest that music can help with memory and attention, activate the brain’s pleasure center and fundamentally improve cognition and learning.

Kim Bellini, director of The Woodlands LearningRx, said that using music as a learning tool can help individuals learn faster and retain more information.

“Music has historically been used to help people remember things,” Bellini said. “Before written language, important skills and cultural myths would have been set to music. Today people remember everyday things like phone numbers by setting them to a memorable beat.”

Music has also been used as a tool for people suffering from memory loss. “Ongoing research suggests that music can help people with neurological diseases, dementia and Alzheimer’s,” Bellini said.

Part of what makes music such a powerful tool is the way people feel as they experience it.

“Music is actually connected with the brain’s reward system,” Bellini said.

She said that playing music can have a more lasting effect on cognition. It causes a chemical called dopamine to be released into the player’s system. “It’s the same thing that happens when you eat a delicious meal, except you’re actually growing your brain at the same time,” she added.

“Playing a musical instrument changes the anatomy of the brain,” Bellini said. “When someone picks up an instrument to play a song, a specific series of events occurs in the brain. Individual notes must be struck in a precise order, and as this order is practiced, circuits in the brain are formed and strengthened.”

These changes affect more than just musical ability. “A recent study from Long Island University suggested a link between musical education and non-musical skills such as language and math,” Bellini said. “Music has a strong effect on brain plasticity, or its ability to grow and adapt.”

Finding new ways to strengthen cognitive ability is The Woodlands Learning Rx’s specialty. The brain-training center works to transform a student’s ability to learn at a core level. To learn more about The Woodlands LearningRx, visit www.learningrx.com/the-woodlands.

About LearningRx

LearningRx specializes in identifying and correcting the underlying cognitive skill deficiencies that keep people from achieving their full potential whether in school, business or life. The program was pioneered by Dr. Ken Gibson. Using a comprehensive skills assessment test and intensive one-on-one training, certified trainers help individuals quickly and effectively improve weak cognitive skills such as attention, memory, processing speed, and problem solving.