Abstract
The effects of music training in relation to brain plasticity have caused excitement, evident from the popularity of books on this topic among scientists and the general public. Neuroscience research has shown that music training leads to changes throughout the auditory system that prime musicians for listening challenges beyond music processing. This effect of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness. Therefore, the role of music in shaping individual development deserves consideration.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 599-605 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Nature Reviews Neuroscience |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2010 |
Funding
The work is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK, and The Wellcome Trust, London, UK. We would like to thank G. Goodwin (head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK), C. Kennard (head of the Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, UK), K. Porcheret (Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, University of Oxford, UK), K. Davies and P. Oliver (Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit, University of Oxford, UK) for their valuable input during the preparation of this manuscript. This work is supported by the US National Science Foundation (grants SBE-0842376 and BCS-092275). We thank J. Song for her contribution towards the artwork and T. Nicol, D. Strait and K. Chan for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience