Music Builds a Better Brain by Marc Arginteanu
Over the years, neurosurgeons have noticed the brains of musicians to be more resilient. Often, musicians recover more quickly and completely from brain surgery, trauma or other adverse occurrences. Perhaps, this is due to musicians’ robust brain circuitry and enhanced neuroplasticity (the ability of brain cells and wiring to grow and change). This phenomenon has been dubbed, “The Mozart Effect.”
I must admit, “Mozart Effect” has a nice ring to it. But it could just as well have been called the “Pink Floyd Effect” or the “Porgy and Bess Effect.” Making music, practicing music and singing leads to superior brain function and structure (even active listening helps). Any kind of music works (and it doesn’t take long either). Significant anatomic changes in the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for memory) may occur after a mere six months of training.
Researchers at the prestigious Johns Hopkins recruited dozens of jazz performers and rappers to improvise music while undergoing fMRI ((functional magnetic resonance imaging) a machine to determine brains anatomy and activity). A mind-boggling amount of computing occurred while the mathematical, structural and architectural relationships between one note and the next were being hammered out.
Vanderbilt University researchers discovered musicians are more proficient than others in finding unique solutions to open-ended, multifaceted problems. This may be because music can rewire the brain. Many neuroscientists believe those who regularly listen to or play music develop stronger communication between far flung parts of their brains.
One brain circuit that particularly benefits from music is called the arcuate fasciculus (neurons (brain cells) that connect the auditory and motor regions (parts of the brain responsible for hearing and movement)). Those adept at making music also bolster brain wiring across another brain area called the intraparietal sulcus, which develops neuron-cables that connect sensory regions of the brain to creative thought centers. Altogether, this helps integrate brain function.
The cognitive demands of learning and playing both the piano and the drums have been proven to restructure your brain. Due to neuroplasticity the brain is malleable. Pianists and drummers may develop more vigorous connections across the corpus callosum (a superhighway linking the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain). More efficient white matter cells (cables) connecting the right and left brain hemispheres allows the two sides of your brain (the left side is often more logical and the right side is often more artistic) to communicate more efficiently and improves creativity and problem solving. Additionally, piano players may develop more efficient connections within the frontal lobe (executive function area of the brain). Drummers, for their part, may develop enhanced motor cortex (part of the brain that controls movement) function, which allows them to become more adept in creating and controlling movement than their non musical peers.
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for a lesson or two. Or at least get some tickets to see your favorite band.
If you’d like to learn more about how to fine tune your brain and elevate your mind please check out The Mind Unlocked on my Amazon author page:
