Interesting study done recently about the effect of musical training on brain development. Although it was a small study, some interesting findings:
Musically trained children (aged 10 – 13) showed higher activation of cognitive controls.
The musicians had an overall better performance on both memory tasks across attention conditions.
Musicians showed higher activation in cognitive control regions such as fronto-parietal control network. (This part of the brain is involved in executive function and goal-orientated, cognitively demanding tasks).
Overall the results clearly show the neural dynamics that underlie bimodal attentions (2 modes of attentions: in this case audio and visual) and working memory of musically trained children and contribute new knowledge to this model of brain plasticity.
Previous research has shown that adult musicians outperform their untrained peers on tasks assessing cognitive flexibility, working memory and verbal fluency. (Zuk etal., 2014)
Authors of the study conclude that “musical training could be used as a non-pharmacological intervention strategy for children with attentional problems.”
Read the full article here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.554731/full
Or read an article explaining the study in more detail here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/202010/why-musical-training-may-be-good-kids-brain-development