A combined research study conducted by students in Virginia Penhune's laboratory who is a professor at the Concordia University psychology and Robert J. Zatorre, a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University, shows music lessons at an early age can help in significant development in the parts of brain responsible for "planning" and "carrying out movements," according to Medical Xpress.
The study shows a stronger connection between motor regions of the brain which determine movements and the region that helps in planning, in those who learn music before the age of seven. Researchers came up with adequate proof during the study which indicates children between age six and eight can show a significant brain development with enduring changes in motor abilities and the structure of the brain with the help of musical training.
"Learning to play an instrument requires coordination between hands and with visual or auditory stimuli," says Penhune, according to the report. "Practicing an instrument before age seven likely boosts the normal maturation of connections between motor and sensory regions of the brain, creating a framework upon which ongoing training can build."
The study involved 36 adult musicians whose movement tasks were analyzed and brains were scanned by Penhune and Zatorre with the help of study co-authors, PhD candidates Christopher J. Steele and Jennifer A. Bailey. Out of the total participants, 18 of them started musical training post age seven and the other half started off early but both the groups spent same time in musical training and practice.
Both these groups were compared on the basis of a short training and found that musicians who had early age musical training showed more accurate timing than those who started off later, with just two days of practice. The brain scans of both the groups showed significant difference with enhanced white matter in the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibers connecting left and right motor regions of the brain of the musicians who started training before the age of seven.
Further the brain scans of musicians who started learning music at a later point were compared with a group of non-musicians and surprisingly found no difference, says the report. This comparison suggests that the brain developments can happen only at an early age. Researchers suggested that the connectivity was better with those who started musical training early.
"This study is significant in showing that training is more effective at early ages because certain aspects of brain anatomy are more sensitive to changes at those time points," said co-author, Dr. Zatorre, who is also the co-director of the International Laboratory for Brain Music and Sound Research, according to Medical Xpress.
"It's important to remember that what we are showing is that early starters have some specific skills and differences in the brain that go along with that," Penhune commented. "But, these things don't necessarily make them better musicians. Musical performance is about skill, but it is also about communication, enthusiasm, style, and many other things that we don't measure. So, while starting early may help you express your genius, it probably won't make you a genius."
The study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
