Further research confirms musical brain benefits

It may come as a surprise to some, yet researchers have found that running affects the brain in pretty much the same way as playing a musical instrument.

MRI scans of such individuals brought to light improved functional connectivity in the brains in the new study, displaying different regions of the brain more closely connected than usual and more in sync with one another.

The team hailing from the University of Arizona states that the findings could possibly help us comprehend how repetitive mechanical tasks, such as running and practicing the piano for instance, alters the functionally of the brain; providing fresh new insights into combating cognitive decline later in life.

One of the team anthropologists David Raichlen says, One of the things that drove this collaboration was that there has been a recent proliferation of studies, over the last 15 years, that have shown that physical activity and exercise can have a beneficial impact on the brain, but most of that work has been in older adults. This question of whats occurring in the brain at younger age hasnt really been explored much depth and its important.

The researchers then put in comparison the brain scans of 11 male cross-country runners with scans from 11 males who had not taken part in organized athletic activity for over a year.

The control groups being about roughly the same age had similar BMI (Body Mass Index) and had the same academic background.

In the scans portraying a rested state, the participants did not perform explicit mental tasks during the MRI the team discovered that the functional connectivity of the runners was far more intricate and greater than the non-runners in areas such as the frontal cortex, where the brain processes planning, decision-making and multitasking.

Prior researches have established similar links between brains functional connectivity and tasks requiring fine motor control to that of learning a musical instrument.