If you took piano lessons as a child but never continued with them in adulthood, they could still provide brain benefits later in life, according to a new study.


Researchers from Northwestern University found that brain responses to speech are faster among older adults who took childhood music lessons -- even if they haven't touched an instrument in decades.


And the positive effects seemed to be stronger the longer a person took music lessons as a child, the researchers noted.


The study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience[1] , and is based on testing of 44 adults ages 55 to 76. The study participants had the electrical activity of their auditory brainstem measured as they listened to the speech syllable "da."


The brain response to the sound was fastest among people who had had four to 14 years of musical training in childhood, with the response being a millisecond faster than those who had no musical training as children.


"Being a millisecond faster may not seem like much, but the brain is very sensitive to timing and a millisecond compounded over millions of neurons can make a real difference in the lives of older adults," Michael Kilgard, Ph.D., who studies the brain's sound-processing abilities at University of Texas at Dallas and who wasn't involved in this study, said in a statement. "These findings confirm that the investments that we make in our brains early in life [2] continue to pay dividends years later."


And people could stand to benefit from starting music lessons at a very young age, according to another study in the Journal of Neuroscience. That research, conducted by scientists from Concordia University and the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University, showed that musical training before age 7 is linked with more white matter in the corpus callosum part of the brain[3] , as well as better performance on visual sensorimotor synchronization tasks compared with people who started music training after age 7.



Also on HuffPost:




Loading Slideshow...



  • Eases Anxiety In Cancer Patients


    Researchers from Drexel University found that cancer patients who either listened to music or worked with a music therapist experienced a <a href="http://news.health.com/2011/08/12/music-eases-cancer-patients-anxiety-study/" target="_hplink">reduction in anxiety</a>.

    The review by the Cochrane Collaboration included 1,891 people with cancer, and found that people who participated in music somehow not only had decreased anxiety, but also <a href="http://news.health.com/2011/08/12/music-eases-cancer-patients-anxiety-study/" target="_hplink">better blood pressure levels</a> and improved moods, HealthDay reported.




  • Reduces Stress


    If you listen to your iPod every day on your way to work or break out the guitar every evening, then you'll like this finding.

    A doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg reveals that <a href="http://www.samfak.gu.se/Faculty+of+Social+science/News/News/News_Detail//everyday-music-listening-reduces-stress.cid1066914" target="_hplink">listening to music every day</a> lowers stress. The thesis was based on the results of two studies, which showed that people who listened to music also felt positive emotions.

    "But it should be pointed out that when studying emotional responses to music it is important to remember that all people do not respond in the exact same way to a piece of music and that one individual can respond differently to the same piece of music at different times, depending on both individual and situational factors," thesis author Marie Helsing said <a href="http://www.samfak.gu.se/Faculty+of+Social+science/News/News/News_Detail//everyday-music-listening-reduces-stress.cid1066914" target="_hplink">in a statement</a>. "To get the positive effects of music, you have to listen to music that you like."




  • Helps During Surgery


    Listening to music while lying on the operating table could help to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1929994,00.html" target="_hplink">lower stress</a>, <em>TIME</em> reported.

    The research, conducted by Cleveland Clinic researchers, included patients -- mostly with Parkinson's disease -- as they were undergoing brain surgery. The researchers found that the study participants who listened to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1929994,00.html" target="_hplink">pure melodies</a> -- versus just rhythmic arrangements, or a mix of the two -- were comforted the most. Their brains also reflected this calming, <em>TIME</em> reported, with some of the study participants even falling asleep.




  • Protects Your Ears' Sound-Processing Abilities


    A 2011 study in the journal <em>Psychology and Aging</em> shows that being a lifelong musician is linked with <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/quick-study-lifelong-music-training-may-help-stave-off-hearing-loss/2011/09/28/gIQA0JI4IL_story.html" target="_hplink">better sound processing</a>, the <em>Washington Post</em> reported.

    The study included 163 people (74 of whom had played music all their lives). The researchers also found a link between hearing test scores and the amount of time the study participants practiced their music, according to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/quick-study-lifelong-music-training-may-help-stave-off-hearing-loss/2011/09/28/gIQA0JI4IL_story.html" target="_hplink">the <em>Washington Post</em></a>.




  • Boosts Heart Health


    Odd as it may seem, University of Maryland Medical Center researchers have found a link between listening to music and heart health.

    The researchers found that listening to joyful music is linked with <a href="http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/music-cardiovascular.htm" target="_hplink">dilation of blood vessels' inner lining</a>, meaning more flow of blood through the blood vessels. Specifically, the diameter of blood vessels grew by 26 percent when a person listened to happy music. However, the opposite effect was noted when a person listened to anxiety-triggering music -- blood vessel diameter <em>decreased</em> by 6 percent as a result.

    The research was presented in 2008 at a meeting of the American Heart Association.




  • Soothes Pain


    Researchers from University of Utah Pain Research Center showed that listening to music is effective as a distraction for anxiety-prone people <a href="http://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/current/01-06-2012_Study_Pain_Relief.html" target="_hplink">from feeling pain</a>, and as a result, could help people feel less pain.

    The study, which included 143 people, was published in the <em>Journal of Pain</em>. The researchers found that music helped the study participants to have less arousal when shocked with non-dangerous fingertip electrodes.




  • Helps Memory


    Kids <a href="http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030728/music-lessons-verbal-memory" target="_hplink">who take music lessons</a> could be doing their brains a favor, according to Hong Kong researchers.

    WebMD reported that taking music lessons is linked with doing better on tests where you have to recall words you read on a list.

    And "the more music training during childhood, the better the verbal memory," study researcher Agnes S. Chan, PhD, a psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, <a href="http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030728/music-lessons-verbal-memory" target="_hplink">told WebMD</a>. "This strongly implies that the better verbal memory in children with music training is not simply a matter of differences in age, education level, or their family's socioeconomic characteristics."




  • Protects The Aging Brain


    Having musical training could <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/04/25/music-training-may-help-keep-aging-brain-healthy" target="_hplink">protect your mental sharpness</a> in old age, according to a 2011 study in the journal <em>Neuropsychology</em>.

    HealthDay reported on the study of 70 people ages 60 to 83, with varying levels of music experience. The researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center found that the people who had the <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/04/25/music-training-may-help-keep-aging-brain-healthy" target="_hplink">most musical training</a> in their lives had the best mental sharpness, and scored the highest on brain functioning tests.




  • Prevents Heart Transplant Rejection (In Mice)


    It may so far only be shown in mice, but it's still pretty amazing: Japanese researchers found that exposing mice to certain kinds of music was linked with "prolonged survival" after a <a href="http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/classical-music-boosts-heart-transplant-survival-in-mice-40561/" target="_hplink">heart transplant</a>, Miller-McCune reported.

    The mice in the study were exposed to either Mozart, Verdi (opera music), New Age-type music, no music at all, or a sound frequency. Mice who listened to Mozart and Verdi had a <a href="http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/classical-music-boosts-heart-transplant-survival-in-mice-40561/" target="_hplink">longer survival time</a> after the heart transplant, compared to the other mice, according to Miller-McCune.




  • Improves Stroke Recovery


    Finnish researchers found that listening to music soon after a stroke could <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/02/20/35390.aspx" target="_hplink">help with recovery</a>, News Medical reported.

    Published in 2008 in the journal <em>Brain</em>, researchers found that <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/02/20/35390.aspx" target="_hplink">listening to music</a> was linked with improved verbal memory and attention among stroke patients, compared with listening to audio books or not listening to anything at all.




  • Works As Well As A Massage At Lowering Anxiety


    Massages are super-relaxing, sure -- but a study in the journal <em>Depression and Anxiety</em> shows that music could also do the trick, at least when it comes to <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/03/19/music-soothes-anxiety-as-well-as-massage-does" target="_hplink">decreasing anxiety</a>.

    Researchers from the Group Health Research Institute found that patients who got 10 hour-long massages had the same <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2010/03/19/music-soothes-anxiety-as-well-as-massage-does" target="_hplink">decreased anxiety symptoms</a> three months later as people who simply listened to music (and went sans-massage), HealthDay reported.

    The study included 68 people who received the 10 massages with music, laid down while listening to music (but didn't get a massage), or were wrapped with warm pads and towels while listening to music (but didn't get a massage), according to HealthDay.




  • Related Video