Music has been a form of therapy for many years and is a universal aspect of human life. It enhances well-being and is essential in nurturing children's cognitive and emotional development. As we age, music becomes vital for maintaining and improving cognitive abilities.
As people age, cognitive abilities like memory, attention, inhibition, and visuospatial and visuoconstructional skills weaken. Participating in musical activities activates certain parts of the brain that are in charge of planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. Music improves working memory by increasing information processing speed, which is essential for delaying age-related diseases and maintaining strong cognitive abilities.
Playing an instrument, for instance, stimulates and activates the brain, particularly the hippocampus. The hippocampus is in the limbic system, responsible for emotions, memory, and behavior. The hippocampus creates memories, stores them as "long-term," and helps understand one’s spatial navigation. Many diseases like Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, and hypertension can damage the hippocampus, resulting in loss of memory and the loss of being able to create new memories. Participating in musical activities helps keep the hippocampus healthy, protecting it from becoming dysfunctional.
In addition to the hippocampus, music activates the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executing decision-making and problem-solving. A study by Dr. Jenneifer Zuk aimed to examine how musical training affects executive functions in children and adults. The study found that musically trained children performed better than nonmusical peers in tasks that displayed cognitive flexibility, multitasking, and inhibitory control. Based on neuroimaging data, a research team concluded that children with musical training performed better on the tasks assigned to them because there was greater activation in the prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor areas.
Similarly, a study in 2012 conducted by Alexandra Parbery Clark and her colleagues investigated how musical experience strengthens the neural representation of sound in older people. The study found that older musicians showed advanced neural speech encoding compared to nonmusical adults. Neural coding is the brain’s ability to process and interpret information from the environment and convert it into electrical signals that neurons can use. The auditory system transforms the signals and sends them to the brain to get analyzed and executed. Due to the musical training participants were given, their brains could pick up important details and process information around them, allowing them to hear and understand speech clearly, which is an ability that slowly declines with age.
Music activates brain regions that keep the human brain healthy and functioning. Whether listening or playing music, music supports neural health throughout life, a holistic approach to maintaining cognitive abilities, and alleviates age-related decline.
I can connect to this through my journey with sitar. I have learned essential skills like patience, focus, and dedication through sitar. I have learned how to tune the sitar and it has taken me a long time to learn the basics, but I have not mastered it. It takes time and patience to listen carefully until you tune to the right note and then readjust to fine-tune. This process has sharpened my ear, allowing me to identify notes on the saragam. Another thing was practicing the composition so that it gets imprinted in my brain and my hand can move with speed naturally. When practicing the same composition multiple times memorization develops. Knowing where to put my hand, what note to play, and which string to touch improved my multitasking and coordination skills.
Playing with others has been one of the most amazing parts. There is something so remarkable about playing with other musicians. On the spot, you learn how to adjust and create a beautiful piece of music to play for others. It’s not just about playing a particular set of notes; it’s about everyone’s energy and the shared experience. Hearing and living in the moment of the excellent composition that has been created brings me joy and helps me connect with society. I feel fulfilled and happy when I can share my love of sitar and bring others happiness with the power of music.
Citations:
Parbery-Clark, A., Anderson, S., Hittner, E., & Kraus, N. (2012). Musical experience strengthens the neural representation of sounds important for communication in middle-aged adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2012.00030
‌Simmons-Stern, N. R., Deason, R. G., Brandler, B. J., Frustace, B. S., O’Connor, M. K., Ally, B. A., & Budson, A. E. (2012). Music-based memory enhancement in Alzheimer’s Disease: Promise and limitations. Neuropsychologia, 50(14), 3295–3303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.09.019
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