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Musician' Brains Are Highly Developed, Researchers Find
US
Not Just Bigger - But Better Brains 19/05/11
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Researchers have found that musicians not only have bigger than average brains, but that musicians have 'highly developed' brains.
A new study has found that professional musicians and amateur musicians differ in congitive and brain measures in many ways.
Among the areas tested, the study found that:
Professional musicians do better on the Stroop color-word test, a test that is considered to be a measure of selective attention. Better scores are associated with cognitive flexibility and processing speed, while lower scores are associated with a variety of mental disorders.
Professional musicians have higher coordination between the various sections of their brains, which may translate into more efficient use of the brain.
Professional musicians also tended to score higher on tests of moral reasoning.
Previously, researchers have found that musicians' brains tend to be significantly larger in an area called Heschl's Gyrus - an area of the brain that is used in processing auditory information.