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      How musical training affects cognitive development: rhythm, reward and other modulating variables

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          Abstract

          Musical training has recently gained additional interest in education as increasing neuroscientific research demonstrates its positive effects on brain development. Neuroimaging revealed plastic changes in the brains of adult musicians but it is still unclear to what extent they are the product of intensive music training rather than of other factors, such as preexisting biological markers of musicality. In this review, we synthesize a large body of studies demonstrating that benefits of musical training extend beyond the skills it directly aims to train and last well into adulthood. For example, children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions. Learning to play an instrument as a child may even predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood. The degree of observed structural and functional adaptation in the brain correlates with intensity and duration of practice. Importantly, the effects on cognitive development depend on the timing of musical initiation due to sensitive periods during development, as well as on several other modulating variables. Notably, we point to motivation, reward and social context of musical education, which are important yet neglected factors affecting the long-term benefits of musical training. Further, we introduce the notion of rhythmic entrainment and suggest that it may represent a mechanism supporting learning and development of executive functions. It also hones temporal processing and orienting of attention in time that may underlie enhancements observed in reading and verbal memory. We conclude that musical training uniquely engenders near and far transfer effects, preparing a foundation for a range of skills, and thus fostering cognitive development.

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          Most cited references148

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          Sensorimotor synchronization: a review of recent research (2006-2012).

          Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) is the coordination of rhythmic movement with an external rhythm, ranging from finger tapping in time with a metronome to musical ensemble performance. An earlier review (Repp, 2005) covered tapping studies; two additional reviews (Repp, 2006a, b) focused on music performance and on rate limits of SMS, respectively. The present article supplements and extends these earlier reviews by surveying more recent research in what appears to be a burgeoning field. The article comprises four parts, dealing with (1) conventional tapping studies, (2) other forms of moving in synchrony with external rhythms (including dance and nonhuman animals' synchronization abilities), (3) interpersonal synchronization (including musical ensemble performance), and (4) the neuroscience of SMS. It is evident that much new knowledge about SMS has been acquired in the last 7 years.
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            Critical period regulation.

            Neuronal circuits are shaped by experience during critical periods of early postnatal life. The ability to control the timing, duration, and closure of these heightened levels of brain plasticity has recently become experimentally accessible, especially in the developing visual system. This review summarizes our current understanding of known critical periods across several systems and species. It delineates a number of emerging principles: functional competition between inputs, role for electrical activity, structural consolidation, regulation by experience (not simply age), special role for inhibition in the CNS, potent influence of attention and motivation, unique timing and duration, as well as use of distinct molecular mechanisms across brain regions and the potential for reactivation in adulthood. A deeper understanding of critical periods will open new avenues to "nurture the brain"-from international efforts to link brain science and education to improving recovery from injury and devising new strategies for therapy and lifelong learning.
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              Differential aging of the brain: patterns, cognitive correlates and modifiers.

              Deciphering the secret of successful aging depends on understanding the patterns and biological underpinnings of cognitive and behavioral changes throughout adulthood. That task is inseparable from comprehending the workings of the brain, the physical substrate of behavior. In this review, we summarize the extant literature on age-related differences and changes in brain structure, including postmortem and noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. Among the latter, we survey the evidence from volumetry, diffusion-tensor imaging, and evaluations of white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Further, we review the attempts to elucidate the mechanisms of age-related structural changes by measuring metabolic markers of aging through magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). We discuss the putative links between the pattern of brain aging and the pattern of cognitive decline and stability. We then present examples of activities and conditions (hypertension, hormone deficiency, aerobic fitness) that may influence the course of normal aging in a positive or negative fashion. Lastly, we speculate on several proposed mechanisms of differential brain aging, including neurotransmitter systems, stress and corticosteroids, microvascular changes, calcium homeostasis, and demyelination.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Front Neurosci
                Front Neurosci
                Front. Neurosci.
                Frontiers in Neuroscience
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                1662-4548
                1662-453X
                20 January 2014
                2013
                : 7
                : 279
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, (CMU), University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland
                [2] 2Swiss Centre of Affective Sciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland
                Author notes

                Edited by: Jonathan B. Fritz, University of Maryland, USA

                Reviewed by: Kristina Simonyan, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, USA; Daniela Sammler, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany; Dana L. Strait, Northwestern University, USA

                *Correspondence: Ewa A. Miendlarzewska, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva Medical Centre (CMU), 1, rue Michel-Servet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland e-mail: ewa.miendlarzewska@ 123456unige.ch
                Wiebke J. Trost, Swiss Centre of Affective Sciences (CISA), University of Geneva, 9, Chemin des Mines, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland e-mail: johanna.trost@ 123456unige.ch

                This article was submitted to Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.

                Article
                10.3389/fnins.2013.00279
                3957486
                24672420
                766643d9-80c5-4c8d-b9ad-03e2646d601a
                Copyright © 2014 Miendlarzewska and Trost.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 20 July 2013
                : 31 December 2013
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 209, Pages: 18, Words: 17196
                Categories
                Psychology
                Review Article

                Neurosciences
                musical training,brain plasticity,developmental neuroscience,music education,rhythmic entrainment

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