How Musical Activity Shapes Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Hoffmann ◽  
Christoph J. Ploner ◽  
Alexander Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Population ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Memory Functioning ◽  
Musical Activity ◽  
The Brain

Abstract. Musical activity has been found to drive plasticity in brain areas involved in the process of playing a musical instrument. The present article reviews how musical activity influences the brain structures involved in memory and how it impacts on memory functioning memory functioning. Musical activity appears to be associated with better memory capacity across the lifespan. Importantly, training-induced effects are not restricted to childhood, but can occur even in the elderly population. We conclude by outlining how musical activity, both on the receptive and active level, can be beneficial to patients suffering from memory disorders, inducing brain plasticity and memory improvement.

Metabolomic Alterations in the Blood and Brain in Association with Alzheimer’s Disease: Evidence from in vivo to Clinical Studies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Sirawit Sriwichaiin ◽  
Nipon Chattipakorn ◽  
Siriporn C. Chattipakorn
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Pathological Findings ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Major Health ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a major health problem among the elderly population. Some evidence suggests that metabolic disturbance possibly plays a role in the pathophysiology of AD. Currently, the study of metabolomics has been used to explore changes in multiple metabolites in several diseases, including AD. Thus, the metabolomics research in AD might provide some information regarding metabolic dysregulations, and their possible associated pathophysiology. This review summarizes the information discovered regarding the metabolites in the brain and the blood from the metabolomics research of AD from both animal and clinical studies. Additionally, the correlation between the changes in metabolites and outcomes, such as pathological findings in the brain and cognitive impairment are discussed. We also deliberate on the findings of cohort studies, demonstrating the alterations in metabolites before changes of cognitive function. All of these findings can be used to inform the potential identity of specific metabolites as possible biomarkers for AD.

Music and brain plasticity

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
BARBRO B. JOHANSSON
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Developing Brain ◽  
Previous Exposure ◽  
Emotional Involvement ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
And Training ◽  
Little Finger

Complex and widespread activation in many brain areas is seen while performing, listening or mentally imaging music, activity that varies with training, previous exposure, personal preference, emotional involvement and many other factors. Playing a musical instrument demands extensive motor and cognitive abilities, and early musical learning results in plastic reorganization of the developing brain – one example being the increased cortical representation area for the left little finger in (right-handed) string-players, which correlates with age at the start of training. Even though the developing brain has the most pronounced changes, the adult healthy brain has a considerable plasticity. Conductors have superior spatial tuning compared with non-musicians and pianists. Attentive listening to music for as little as three hours can temporarily alter the auditory cortex. Interactions between genetic predisposition, environment and training play a role in music as in other areas. It has been proposed that musical training may improve other cognitive functions. There is some evidence that this may be the case but it is an area that needs further exploration.

scholarly journals SUCCESSFUL COGNITIVE AGING - COGNITIVE RESERVE AND NEUROPLASTICITY

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 1005-1008
Author(s):  
Antonia Yaneva ◽  
Kristina Kilova ◽  
Teodora Dimcheva
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
World Population ◽  
Cognitive Interventions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Brain

As people age they tend to experience changes in cognitive function. Cognitive exercise can allow the brain to remain active and dynamic even at a later age. The promotion of successful cognitive aging is a topic of great importance and a challenge to public health considering the growth and the aging of the world population. This article discusses three concepts - the concept of successful cognitive aging, cognitive reserve and neuroplasticity, and their relationship to the overall cognitive functioning of the elderly. The concept of the cognitive reserve explains the discrepancy between the degree of brain damage and the way the individual responds. Cognitive reserve is based on current brain activity which is formed by the experiences and the activities throughout life. Cognitive reserve theory corresponds with the studies of brain plasticity in the elderly and the fact that cognitive interventions can be useful during aging. The concept of brain plasticity or neuroplasticity is the foundation of all brain exercises or games and relates to the changes in the neuronal organization that can lead to behavioral changes and the development of compensatory mechanisms in older people with cognitive dysfunction due to aging or brain pathology. The model of cognitive plasticity in elderly people proposed by Lövden argues that cognitive interventions are effective when there is a mismatch between the cognitive ability of the individual and the difficulty level of the cognitive task. According to the concepts presented in this article, successful cognitive aging can be achieved by the elderly. The brain can continue to adapt and develop new abilities throughout life. The ability of the brain to reorganize and create new roads is at the key of cognitive learning - an instrument that can be used by health professionals to complement and support the improvement of therapeutic approaches. Research has shown that systemic brain training can potentially lead to the improvement of a number of cognitive skills.

Innate Musicality and Brain Plasticity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shera Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Developmental Delays ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Gross Motor ◽  
Recent Advancement ◽  
The Brain

The field of neuroscience has undergone a recent advancement upon the realization that music has a profound effect on brain plasticity. The hypothesis that a person is born with a brain that is “hard-wired” for use has been replaced with the understanding that while the brain has innate tendencies, it is modifiable and adapts in response to experience (Habib & Besson, 2008). Brain plasticity is necessary for cognitive development to continue (The Neuroscience Institute, 2012). Most infants are born with the basic neural networks needed to begin to adapt to their world, including their musical world, and as they grow and learn, neural networks are formed and developed in response to their experiences. The brain, however, does not always develop as expected, and one significant sign is a delay in gross motor coordination. This paper will present research discussing brain areas and structures associated with coordination and those involved in the processing of music, hypothesizing there might be a relationship between the two. This will have implications for further study regarding the effects of music on the brain and the possibility that music can be used to facilitate brain plasticity and assist in the development of coordination skills in those with developmental delays.  

scholarly journals Beat Detection Recruits the Visual Cortex in Early Blind Subjects

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 296
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Araneda ◽  
Sandra Silva Moura ◽  
Laurence Dricot ◽  
Anne G. De Volder
Keyword(s):  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Beat Detection ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Early Blindness

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, here we monitored the brain activity in 12 early blind subjects and 12 blindfolded control subjects, matched for age, gender and musical experience, during a beat detection task. Subjects were required to discriminate regular (“beat”) from irregular (“no beat”) rhythmic sequences composed of sounds or vibrotactile stimulations. In both sensory modalities, the brain activity differences between the two groups involved heteromodal brain regions including parietal and frontal cortical areas and occipital brain areas, that were recruited in the early blind group only. Accordingly, early blindness induced brain plasticity changes in the cerebral pathways involved in rhythm perception, with a participation of the visually deprived occipital brain areas whatever the sensory modality for input. We conclude that the visually deprived cortex switches its input modality from vision to audition and vibrotactile sense to perform this temporal processing task, supporting the concept of a metamodal, multisensory organization of this cortex.

scholarly journals Natural products and their derived compounds inhibitors of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase

2020 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Maha Z. Rizk ◽  
Hanan F. Aly
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Natural Products ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Neurodegenerative Pathology ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative pathology that primarily affects the elderly population, and is estimated to account for 50-60% of dementia cases in persons over 65 years of age. The main characteristics connected with AD implicate the dysfunction of cognitive role, mainly loss of memory. While, the main features linked with AD at later stages include deficits of language, depression and problems associated with behavior. One of the most important approaches for medication of this disease is to improve level of the acetylcholine in the brain tissues using inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The present work reviews the literature on natural products from plants and plant-derived compounds inhibitors of enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; Secondary metabolites; Plant extracts; essential oils

Epidemiologia zaburzeń neuropoznawczych u pacjentów w wieku podeszłym

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wioletta Mędrzycka-Dąbrowska ◽  
Katarzyna Kwiecień-Jaguś ◽  
Renata Piotrkowska ◽  
Piotr Jarzynkowski
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Brain Dysfunction ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Psychomotor Slowing ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Memory Functioning ◽  
Compensation Mechanisms ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Brain

The phenomenon of progressive impairment of cognitive functions is characteristic for the aging process. More than half of people over 50 complain about weakening of their previous intellectual performance, reduced mood, impaired memory, psychomotor slowing down, decreased ability to concentrate and divide attention, extend reaction time and reduce motor performance. The basis of mental changes in the elderly are changes in the brain. The changes arising in the aging brain are the result of pathological processes: metabolic and altered cerebral circulation. These changes, and mainly their extent, consequently cause brain dysfunction and are manifested mainly in the deterioration of mental functions. The brain is first and foremost the material basis of a mental life. With age, slow, cumulative and irreversible morphological and functional changes occur in the human brain. This process is slow, which is why it is accompanied by a number of compensation mechanisms. This phenomenon occurs regardless of gender. The aim of this article is to present the key issues related to memory functioning in the elderly, with particular emphasis on neurocognitive impairment after surgery.

Neural plasticity and development in the first two years of life: Evidence from cognitive and socioemotional domains of research

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan A. Fox ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
Martha Ann Bell
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Abnormal Development ◽  
Transactional Model ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Environmental Events ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Abnormal Brain

AbstractThree models that can be used to investigate the effects of different environmental events on brain development and organization are explored. The insult model argues against brain plasticity, and the environmental model regards the brain as infinitely plastic. Our work is guided by the transactional model, which views brain development and organization as an interaction between (a) genetically coded programs for the formation and connectivity of brain structures and (b) environmental modifiers of these codes. Data are reported from our cognitive and socioemotional research studies that support the notion of plasticity during the first 2 years of life. From our work with normal developmental processes, we draw parallels to abnormal development and speculate how the transactional model can be used to explain abnormal brain organization and development.

scholarly journals Introducing New Neurons in the Alzheimer’s Disease Brain

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
CA González ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Brain Tissue ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Neuronal Loss ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cell Therapies ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly population. The patients suffer cerebral atrophyas a consequence of extensive neuronal loss, especially in areas that play a role in memory and cognition. Cell therapies approaches have emerged as promising treatments to regenerate the brain tissue of the patients

scholarly journals Energy Metabolism Decline in the Aging Brain; Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janusz Błaszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Krebs Cycle ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Salvage Pathway ◽  
Atp Production ◽  
The Brain

A growing body of evidence indicates that aging of the brain is strictly related to the decline of energy metabolism. In particular, in older adults, the neuronal metabolism of glucose declines steadily resulting in a growing deficit of ATP production. The decline is evoked by deficient NAD recovery in the salvage pathway and subsequent impairment of the Krebs cycle. NAD deficit impairs also the activity of NAD-dependent enzymes. All these open vicious circles of neurodegeneration and neuronal death. Some brain structures are particularly prone to aging and neurodegeneration. These are pathological foci of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. This review article summarizes the impacts and mutual relationships between metabolic processes both on neuronal and brain levels. It also provides directions on how to reduce the risk of neurodegeneration and protect the elderly against neurodegenerative diseases.

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