Confirming what many music teachers have long believed, psychologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong found a 16 percent better word memory on average for adults who learned how to play a musical instrument as children. The findings were reported Thursday in the journal Nature.
The study involved 30 college students with at least six years of musical instruction before age 12 and 30 students with no such training. The musically trained were found to be better at recalling words read to them from a list.
However, they were no better at remembering and drawing simple designs from memory. The researchers noted that the left planum temporale region of the brain, behind the left ear, is known to be larger in musicians. That part of the brain also handles verbal memory.
The researchers suggested that music training may be an entertaining and useful way of improving verbal memory in children. Psychologist Frances Rauscher, who works on the cognitive effects of musical training at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, said the research fits into a growing body of work suggesting that music training cements some neural pathways in the brain, preparing it for other tasks, too.
``It has such huge implications for education,'' she said. But she added that researchers should try supplying the music training themselves to be sure it is the same for all, and should also test groups with equal IQs and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Richard Provost, who teaches classical guitar at the University of Hartford, said educators have begun looking upon such research as justification for music programs. Provost said he believes music can enhance other intellectual skills, including verbal ability.
``To play a musical instrument well, you have to be able to recognize musical symbols in relationship to groups,'' he said. ``You develop a sensitivity to grouping that would relate to letters forming words.''
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