A study of the PROTECT-UK cohort has revealed that musicality correlates with superior cognitive performance in individuals over the age of 40. The findings indicate that those who play a musical instrument tend to exhibit enhanced working memory and executive function compared to individuals who have never played an instrument or have ceased playing. The paper was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Cognitive abilities experience significant changes throughout a person’s lifetime. At birth, an infant’s cognitive abilities are highly limited and only begin to develop thereafter. This developmental process spans the first two decades of life, during which a child learns to speak, gain control over their body, and witness rapid cognitive growth. In early adulthood, cognitive abilities, including memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, generally reach their zenith.
As individuals transition into middle age, they often notice a gradual decline in certain cognitive functions, especially in processing speed and working memory. However, other cognitive aspects, such as vocabulary and general knowledge, may remain stable or even improve with age.
In the later stages of adulthood, the risk of cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, rises significantly, impacting memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions. Despite these trends, there’s a notable variability in cognitive aging among individuals, with some maintaining high cognitive function well into their advanced years.
Study author Gaia Vetere and her colleagues wanted to explore the relationship between lifelong musical engagement and cognitive performance in older adults. They noted that multiple previous studies indicated that musical practice may have beneficial effects on cognitive function at different points in lifetime.
The researchers hypothesized that cognitive reserve plays a crucial role in supporting cognitive function in advanced age. Cognitive reserve refers to the brain’s capacity to adapt and compensate for age-related changes and damage, thereby helping maintain cognitive function and delay cognitive decline. This reserve is thought to arise from a mix of factors, including education, occupational complexity, social engagement, and mentally stimulating activities throughout one’s life. The study aimed to determine whether musical practice contributes to developing cognitive reserve.
They analyzed data collected in a study that was a part of the PROTECT-UK cohort study. The PROTECT-UK study is a large longitudinal study in the UK aiming to understand how healthy brains age and why people develop dementia. It is run by the University of Exeter and King’s College London in partnership with National Health Service. The data for this analysis came from the Musical Experience and Healthy aging study conducted within it.
It included answers of 1,107 individuals over 40 years of age who completed the Edinburgh Lifetime Musical Experience Questionnaire, an assessment of their musical experience and lifetime exposure to music. The study authors matched these data with participants’ cognitive performance results from a computerized cognitive test system embedded in the PROTECT study platform. 83% of participants included in the analysis were female. Their average age was 68 years.
The results indicated that 89% of participants had experience playing a musical instrument, with 44% still playing at the time of data collection. The most common instruments were keyboard and woodwind instruments. About 28% of participants played one instrument, 23% played two, and 4% played five or more musical instruments. Additionally, 44% had participated in instrumental group musical activities, and 78% had received formal musical training, typically lasting between two and five years.
Individuals who reported playing musical instruments exhibited significantly better working memory and executive function. This association was especially strong among those who played keyboard instruments. Playing woodwind instruments was linked with improved executive function. Singing was also associated with enhanced executive function. Overall musical ability correlated with better performance on a specific working memory task (the Digit Span task). Participants currently playing an instrument demonstrated significantly better working memory than those who had stopped playing.
The study authors concluded, “This study found that playing a musical instrument was associated with improved working memory and executive function in older adults, while singing and overall musical ability was also associated with more favorable performance. Continuing engagement with music into later life is also associated with better working memory function. Although more research is needed to investigate this relationship, our findings suggest that promoting the exposure to music during life can increase cognitive reserve and reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in older age.”
The study makes a valuable contribution to the scientific understanding of the links between musicality and cognitive functioning. However, it should be noted that the study design does not allow any cause-and-effect inferences to be drawn from the data. While playing musical instruments may indeed be beneficial for cognitive functioning, it is also possible that individuals whose cognitive functioning is better are able to play musical instruments and engage with music, while those with poorer cognitive functioning are less able to do so. With cognitive decline, along with other cognitive abilities, individuals may simply lose their musical ability and the ability to play instruments as well.
The paper, “The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK ageing cohort,” was authored by Gaia Vetere, Gareth Williams, Clive Ballard, Byron Creese, Adam Hampshire, Abbie Palmer, Ellie Pickering, Megan Richards, Helen Brooker, and Anne Corbett.
