Work

Musical Training and Late-Life Cognition

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of early- to midlife musical training on cognition in older adults. A musical training survey examined self-reported musical experience and objective knowledge in 237 cognitively intact participants. Responses were classified into low-, medium-, and high-knowledge groups. Linear mixed models compared the groups' longitudinal performance on the Animal Naming Test (ANT; semantic verbal fluency) and Logical Memory Story A Immediate Recall (LMI; episodic memory) controlling for baseline age, time since baseline, education, sex, and full-scale IQ. Results indicate that high-knowledge participants had significantly higher LMI scores at baseline and over time compared to low-knowledge participants. The ANT scores did not differ among the groups. Ability to read music was associated with higher mean scores for both ANT and LMI over time. Early- to midlife musical training may be associated with improved late-life episodic and semantic memory as well as a useful marker of cognitive reserve.

Source: American Journal of Alzheimer s Disease & Other Dementias®

DOI: 10.1177/1533317513517048

Authors: Lori F. Gooding, Erin L. Abner, Gregory A. Jicha, Richard J. Kryscio, Fredrick A. Schmitt

Institution: University of Kentucky

Language: English

Topic: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging