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Review
. 2010 Oct-Dec;4(4):277-286.
doi: 10.1590/S1980-57642010DN40400005.

Musical training, neuroplasticity and cognition

Ana Carolina Rodrigues  1 , Maurício Alves Loureiro  2 , Paulo Caramelli  3
Affiliations
Review

Musical training, neuroplasticity and cognition

Ana Carolina Rodrigues et al. Dement Neuropsychol. 2010 Oct-Dec.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

The influence of music on the human brain has been recently investigated in numerous studies. Several investigations have shown that structural and functional cerebral neuroplastic processes emerge as a result of long-term musical training, which in turn may produce cognitive differences between musicians and non-musicians. Musicians can be considered ideal cases for studies on brain adaptation, due to their unique and intensive training experiences. This article presents a review of recent findings showing positive effects of musical training on non-musical cognitive abilities, which probably reflect plastic changes in brains of musicians.

A influência da música no cérebro humano tem sido alvo de vários estudos nos últimos anos. Muitos trabalhos têm demonstrado que processos neuroplásticos estruturais e funcionais surgem no cérebro como resultado de treinamento musical prolongado, os quais podem produzir diferenças cognitivas entre músicos e não-músicos. Os músicos podem ser considerados como casos ideais para investigações relacionadas à adaptação cerebral, devido às suas experiências únicas e intensivas de treinamento. Este artigo apresenta uma revisão das recentes descobertas que mostram efeitos positivos do treinamento musical em capacidades cognitivas não-musicais, o que poderia refletir a ocorrência de alterações plásticas nos cérebros de músicos.

Keywords: cognitive abilities; musical training; neuroplasticity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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