According to a recent study from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, learning to play the violin or piano may help youth brain development by providing added benefits in key behavioral areas of the cortex. The team specializing in child psychiatry published a research article in the September 3, 2014 online edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

James Hudziak, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, worked with colleague Matthew Albaugh, PhD, and graduate research assistant Eileen Crehan on a study they believe is one of the largest investigations of the association between playing a musical instrument and brain development.

According to the researchers, as children age, the cortex—the outer layer of the brain—changes in thickness. In previous analysis of MRI data, Hudziak and his team had discovered that cortical thickening or thinning in specific areas of the brain reflected the occurrence of anxiety and depression, attention problems, aggression, and behavior control issues even in kids without a diagnosis of a mental disorder.

The researchers found that music playing altered the motor areas of the brain, because the activity requires control and coordination of movement. They noted changes in the behavior-regulating areas of the brain related to memory, attention control, organization, and planning.

According to the researchers, a child’s musical background also appears to correlate with cortical thickness in brain areas that play a critical role in inhibitory control, as well as aspects of emotion processing. As 75% of US high school students rarely or never take extracurricular lessons in music or the arts, this researcher stresses the importance of making music training more widely available to youths.

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