Recent studies have revealed that music, whether through playing instruments or simply listening, can have significant cognitive benefits. Playing instruments is associated with improved working memory and executive function, potentially slowing cognitive decline and reducing the risk of dementia in older adults. Listening to music regularly has also been shown to lower dementia risk, with even modest engagement offering protective effects, particularly when combined with education. Furthermore, music can influence memory formation by modulating emotional arousal, enhancing overall memory and fine-tuning detailed memory during critical learning phases. These findings highlight the powerful role of music in brain health, making it a valuable tool for cognitive maintenance and improvement across the lifespan.
Music, this mysterious language that has flowed for thousands of years, has already subtly permeated every corner of our lives — from the first alarm sound that wakes you up in the morning to your personal playlist on the commute; from the energetic rhythm in the gym to the soothing white noise that helps you sleep at night...
We rely on music to regulate our emotions, help us focus, and even get us through tough times. Tchaikovsky even referred to music as "the greatest gift from heaven to humankind." And now, this gift is being endowed with new meanings!
In recent years, with the deepening of neuroscience and psychology research, beyond its entertainment value, the functional potential of music has been continuously discovered and expanded. Are you curious whether listening to music really improves work efficiency? Can the piano lessons you took as a child really become the "secret weapon" against forgetfulness in old age? Can music, without us even realizing it, continuously shape our brains?
Today, we’ll dive into three cutting-edge studies that reveal the fascinating connection between music and the brain!
1. Playing an Instrument or Singing Can Slow Cognitive Decline
A study team from the University of Exeter in the UK, published in 2024 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, aimed to explore whether lifelong involvement in music activities could slow cognitive decline, especially in areas like working memory and executive function. With the global aging population, finding a low-cost, easy-to-promote cognitive protection method is becoming increasingly important.
The participants of this study were all aged 40 and above, had experience using computers and the internet, and had not been diagnosed with dementia. The research team used the computerized cognitive testing system from the PROTECT research platform to measure participants' cognitive performance. All participants had been in the PROTECT cohort for at least a year, with a total of 1,107 participants providing data. Of these participants, 83% were women, and the average age was 67.82 years.
The participants completed the ELMEQ questionnaire, which asked about their experiences with playing musical instruments, singing, listening to music, and their self-assessment of musical ability.
The results were quite interesting: playing a musical instrument was associated with significantly better working memory and executive function, with effect sizes ranging from 0.15 to 0.24. Specifically, those who played keyboard instruments performed especially well in paired associative memory tasks (which assess situational memory and associative learning ability) (effect size 0.26), while brass instrument players performed better on the digit span task (which measures working memory, particularly verbal working memory capacity) (effect size 0.14). Singing was primarily associated with improved executive function (effect size 0.15). Additionally, those who continued to engage in music activities showed significantly better working memory than those who had stopped playing music after once learning an instrument.
Table: Correlation Between Cognitive Performance and Four Dimensions of Musical Competence in the ELMEQ Questionnaire
Table: The Relationship Between Types of Musical Instrument Playing and Cognition
Interestingly, simply "listening to music" did not show a significant association with cognitive function in this study. The researchers believe this may be because active participation in music (such as playing an instrument or singing) involves coordinating visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive systems, which is more likely to stimulate the brain's "cognitive reserve." The study also noted that the social aspect of music activities (such as participating in a band or choir) could further amplify the benefits.
2. Can Listening to Music Every Day Prevent Dementia?
While the first study focused on the long-term effects of "musical ability and professional skills" on cognition, a 2025 study from Australia, published in the same prestigious journal, took a closer look at a more everyday question: For most music lovers who may not necessarily be skilled at playing instruments, can simply listening to music also become an effective way to protect brain health?
To answer this question, the research team conducted a 9-year-long study using the large ASPREE aging cohort. They followed nearly 11,000 cognitively healthy seniors over the age of 70 (all free from dementia at the start of the study) and conducted systematic follow-up assessments. Participants were categorized based on how frequently they engaged in music-related activities (listening to music or playing an instrument, including singing). They were grouped into categories of "never/rarely/occasionally," "often," and "almost daily." Starting from the third year, participants began receiving annual cognitive assessments.
These assessments focused on key indicators: clinical dementia diagnosis, the pre-dementia stage (mild cognitive impairment, or MCI), and changes in cognitive test scores over time. This study design allowed the researchers to observe not only the association between music activities and whether participants developed dementia but also how these activities impacted subtle cognitive changes over the long term.
Figure: Participant Engagement in Two Music-Related Activities (Listening to Music, Playing an Instrument)
The results revealed that for seniors aged 70 and older who were initially cognitively healthy, participating in music-related leisure activities was significantly associated with reduced risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as well as improvements in certain cognitive health indicators. Specifically, compared to those who never/rarely/occasionally listened to music, those who listened to music almost daily had a 39% lower risk of dementia, a 17% lower risk of MCI, and maintained better overall cognitive function and memory in the long term. However, there were no significant effects on other cognitive areas (such as verbal fluency) or subjective cognitive health. Frequent or daily playing of an instrument was associated with a 35% lower risk of dementia but did not significantly improve MCI risk or cognitive test scores. Furthermore, participants who both listened to music and played instruments regularly had a 33% lower risk of dementia and a 22% lower risk of MCI, showing the synergistic benefits of combining the two activities.
Figure: Cox Proportional Hazard Regression Analysis Results of the Association Between Music-Related Leisure Activities and Dementia Risk
Another interesting finding was that education level might modulate the protective effects of music — in individuals with over 16 years of education, listening to music daily reduced the risk of dementia by 63%, whereas no significant effect was observed in those with medium levels of education. This suggests that music may play a greater role when interacting with higher cognitive resources.
Table: Education as a Moderator of the Association Between Listening to Music and Dementia Risk
In conclusion, these two studies clearly demonstrate that music activities—whether involving playing an instrument or simply listening to music—have the potential to protect cognition, particularly in delaying cognitive decline in older adults!
3. Can Music “Tune” Our Memory?
A 2025 experimental study published in Journal of Neuroscience explored how music can influence our memory formation by affecting emotions during the crucial post-encoding phase of memory. The researchers aimed to answer the following questions: Can music enhance memory? When should we listen? What kind of music is effective?
To answer these questions, the researchers identified a key moment in memory consolidation: the "post-encoding" phase, which occurs right after we learn something new (e.g., memorizing words, viewing pictures). They hypothesized that external stimuli, such as music, can significantly impact memory during this critical period.
To test this, they recruited 130 college students (aged 18-35) and randomly assigned them to 6 groups: 4 groups listened to different types of high-arousal classical music (some with positive, familiar emotions and others with negative, unfamiliar emotions), 1 group listened to neutral sounds (e.g., white noise, crackling fireplace sounds), and 1 group stayed silent (the control group). After 10 minutes, participants took a memory test focusing on "overall memory" (recognition of target items) and "detailed memory" (discrimination of similar but different items).
Figure: Experimental Timeline and Procedure
The findings revealed several interesting conclusions. First, music significantly heightened emotional arousal, with negative music (whether familiar or unfamiliar) and unfamiliar positive music causing the greatest emotional response.
Figure: Distribution of Different Musical Stimuli on the Dimensions of Arousal, Emotional Tendency, Familiarity, and Pleasure
Second, emotional arousal had a "trade-off effect" on memory: If the goal was to remember the "overall" picture (e.g., recognizing previously seen images), then emotional arousal had to be either very high (e.g., exciting music) or moderately low (e.g., relaxing music). Both of these conditions enhanced overall memory. However, if the goal was to remember the "details" (e.g., distinguishing between similar images), moderate emotional arousal was optimal, as both high and low arousal weakened detailed memory.
Finally, the study found that music had a unique effect on detailed memory. Those who listened to music that moderately elevated their emotional arousal performed better in remembering details compared to the control groups. In contrast, those who listened to music that lowered their emotional arousal performed worse in remembering details. This suggests that music's impact on detailed memory is something that neutral sounds or silence cannot replace.
Conclusion
In summary, these three studies collectively show that music can serve as a "brain fitness coach" we carry around with us! Playing an instrument can reshape our brain structure over time, improving memory and executive function; listening to music daily can protect cognitive health and reduce the risk of dementia; and music can even enhance memory performance by adjusting emotions at critical times.
So, go ahead and play your favorite song — it might just be the 3-4 minutes of brain care you need today!
References:
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Vetere G, Williams G, Ballard C et al. The relationship between playing musical instruments and cognitive trajectories: Analysis from a UK ageing cohort. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024 Feb;39(2):e6061. doi: 10.