Six Months of Piano Training in Healthy Elderly Stabilizes White Matter Microstructure in the Fornix, Compared to an Active Control Group

Abstract

While aging is characterized by neurodegeneration, musical training is associated with experience-driven brain plasticity and protection against age-related cognitive decline. However, evidence for the positive effects of musical training mostly comes from cross-sectional studies while randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes are rare. The current study compares the influence of six months of piano training with music listening/musical culture lessons in 121 musically naïve healthy elderly individuals with regard to white matter properties using fixel-based analysis. Analyses revealed a significant fiber density decline in the music listening/musical culture group (but not in the piano group), after six months, in the fornix, which is a white matter tract that naturally declines with age. In addition, these changes in fiber density positively correlated to episodic memory task performances and the amount of weekly piano training. These findings not only provide further evidence for the involvement of the fornix in episodic memory encoding but also more importantly show that learning to play the piano at an advanced age may stabilize white matter microstructure of the fornix.

Fine motor control improves in older adults after 1 year of piano lessons: Analysis of individual development and its coupling with cognition and brain structure

“…As reported in the first part of the paper, unimanual fine motor control especially evolved during the first half‐year of intervention. However, the 6‐month improvement was independent of M1 and is therefore likely to have other neuronal causes, probably not in single brain regions but instead in distributed neuronal networks (Bangert et al, 2006; Doyon et al, 2009), as we also have shown in Jünemann et al (submitted). As expected, M1 did not change alone in the PiPl group, but in concert with Put and Tha (and most certainly other neural structures) forming an effective and well‐connected network.…”

“…Then, within each pair, participants were randomly assigned to either PiPl or MuCu. The equality of these factors in both groups was confirmed using chi‐squared and two‐sample independent t ‐tests (see Jünemann et al, 2022). The second half of the intervention period (i.e., months 6–12) was impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

“…Purdue Pegboard results have already been analysed on a subsample ( N = 109) of this RCT. Using ANOVA, Jünemann et al (submitted) found significant Time*Group interactions after 12 months of the PP R , PP L and PP A but not PP B condition. Although we included 47 more participants in the present analysis and used a different statistical approach, we did not expect major differences from these results.…”

“…For example, in a separate analysis of the present study, we found increased resting state functional connectivity after 12 months between the right‐hand area of M1, defined as seed region, and bilateral sensorimotor regions. Additionally, the strength of connectivity correlated positively with the performance in PP A (Jünemann et al, submitted).…”

Research Bites

“…In a 2022 article published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (6), researchers Jűnemann et al wrote about their work regarding the neurocognitive effects of 6 months of piano training on elderly individuals. In their introduction, the authors state that musical training is associated with brain plasticity and protection against age-related cognitive decline.…”