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Playing a musical instrument

Exposure

1 paper2 findings

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

On aging: the drug’s trials ARN judged to be about aging, of every trial that tests it for any use.

No results posted: trials that ended more than a year ago with no results on ClinicalTrials.gov and no paper in ARN’s record.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

  • 1 lab in 1 country
  • Funders: National Institute for Dementia Research and 1 more
  • Humans1

Outcomes

2

Cognitive function

no changein humans1

1 study

  1. Playing a musical instrument has no effect on cognitive function in humans.

    “Music experience was not significantly associated with neuropsychological performance.”

    Humansat risk for dementia

    The associations between playing a musical instrument and grey matter in older adults at risk for dementia: a whole-brain VBM analysis

    GeroScience3 Sep 2025

Grey matter density

upin humans1

1 study

  1. Playing a musical instrument increases grey matter density in humans.

    “Active players showed increased GM density in the left planum temporale (p < 0.0001), left planum polare (p < 0.0001), right posterior insula (p < 0.0001), and left cerebellum exterior (p < 0.0001) compared to the naïve group.”

    Humansat risk for dementia

    The associations between playing a musical instrument and grey matter in older adults at risk for dementia: a whole-brain VBM analysis

    GeroScience3 Sep 2025

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