The effects of individualized piano instruction on executive functions in older adults (ages 60--85)

Music instruction has improved cognitive abilities among many demographic populations. The goal of this research is to extend this approach to the well elderly population (ages 60--85) utilizing individualized piano instruction (IPI). Thirty-nine participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (21) and control group (18). Subjects were screened for neuropsychological impairments such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and depression. One qualification for participation was that subjects had to be "musically naive" or have had less than five years of formal musical instruction. A battery of standardized neuropsychological and cognitive assessments was administered at three time points: pretraining, posttraining, and three months following training. The experimental group significantly improved performance on some cognitive assessments as compared to healthy controls. Specific improvements were noted in temporal working memory, planning, concentration, and strategy maintenance. These findings suggest that IPI may mitigate mild age-related memory decline or improve some aspects of overall cognitive functioning.