A recent study from Aarhus University, published in Communications Biology, explores how aging affects musical memory processing in the brain. Using brain scans of 76 participants listening to Bach’s music, researchers found that older adults can remember musical pieces just as well as younger individuals, but their brains work differently to achieve this. The study revealed that in older listeners, sensory areas of the brain become more active while memory-related regions show reduced activity when processing familiar music. This suggests that the aging brain adapts by compensating for less effective memory mechanisms through increased sensory processing. The research team hopes these findings will contribute to an improved understanding of memory function and potentially aid in developing screening methods for dementia risk in older individuals.
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How Music Relates to the Aging Brain
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