PhD psychology researcher Ryan Sutcliffe while using tools for his study - a guitar and non-invasive brain imaging technology. Credit: Massey UniversityPosted by Henningsen Robbins on February 2nd, 2021 Ryan Sutcliffe wants to play the guitar, and writes and performs their own songs. Now, next includes a dream project combining his musical and academic interests in a very study to check whether music lessons can help maintain brain health in ageing. Mr Sutcliffe is seeking 60 people aged over 60 years within the Manawatū region to take part inside a study to discover if learning a musical instrument in later life could affect cognition, and act as an easy method of slowing the inevitable decline in brain function and, perhaps, even defer the start dementia. He will probably be offering free guitar lessons plus a free guitar to 30 people randomly used on one group. The other 30 within the control group will require part in the music club involving listening to and discussing a multitude of music, sharing favourite music and doing music quizzes. "What I'm interested in is the place where we can easily use music in successful brain ageing," says Mr Sutcliffe, that is based inside the School of Psychology at Massey University. "The rationale for this study is the fact that by learning a musical instrument, we could reduce chances of having further brain degeneration than already might exist in healthy ageing." How does strumming result in successful brain ageing? "When you're learning an instrument, it does not take motor aspects utilizing your hands, it's the listening aspect, it does not take visual aspect, and also the concentration. When you tie many of these things together, you're actually really exercising your mind, which can be important for taking care of healthy brain function." Pleasure also features a cognitive impact through feeling rewarded by causing progress in mastering making music. The idea is the fact that music tuition could possibly be an early on intervention to bolster your brain's inherent neuroplasticity. Novel study As far as he's aware, here is the first study anywhere to show music with an older group of participants and to record brain activity. Both groups will undergo a non-invasive neurological session before the music lessons or club activities. During those tasks he will record brain activity, using an imaging method called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). "In this session, people will likely be inspired to label the emotion in music clips and faces, and finished some questions making use of verbal and non-verbal reasoning while wearing a head cap which uses light to measure the flow of blood through the brain surface," according to him. The session lasts roughly one plus a half hours. Ryan Sutcliffe testing your brain imaging technology to be used in the research with his co-supervisor Dr Ute Kreplin. Credit: Massey University Prospective participants have to be without any any history of head injury, stroke or other neurological impacts (including neurodegenerative conditions for example Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease). Depending on which group participants are assigned to, they'll receive the new guitar to help keep, or perhaps a gift card of equivalent value. Participants mustn't currently play an instrument, currently consider themselves a musician, or experienced over 36 months of earlier music training (including self-teaching, formal lessons, you aren't). doodleordie.com/profile/munksgaard81m who agree to get familiar with this project will first be asked to complete a web-based questionnaire to collect demographic information. Following Clicking Here , participants is going to be asked to attend a couple of weekly groups - either the songs appreciation and discussion club or perhaps the guitar learning programme. "These lessons will give you participants using a basic summary of contemporary guitar playing, with the emphasis on song-learning and satisfaction, rather than music theory," he admits that. Music tuition - a gamechanger in ageing medical? "The most effective outcome of the proposed research would be that late-life music learning prevents declines in brain health and consequently, cognitive, mental, and social abilities. Learning a musical instrument could therefore certainly be a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive way for reducing older adults' chance of developing age-based neurodegenerative diseases," Mr Sutcliffe says. "Group music lessons might be implemented in rest homes and community groups, while using goal of easing the societal pressure connected with increasing aged populations." Mr Sutcliffe knows the strength of music since he acquired guitar when he was nine. He took lessons and contains played and written songs since that time, including in a senior high school jazz group and much more recently, a gig in Palmerston North. "Because music is a huge portion of my life and I listen to music on a regular basis, I've been interested within the psychological side from it. It's really cool that I've been able to incorporate playing the guitar in to a Ph.D. in psychology." He is now seeking volunteers with this project and encourages anyone interested to get hold of him to learn more or to create the analysis: E: rsutcliffe14@ or M: 027 267 1235 Mr Sutcliffe hopes to start the groups, that can run for four months, in February and March 2019.Like it? Share it! More by this author
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