Title: Lifetime musical experience and healthy ageing
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: The global population is ageing rapidly, identifying modifiable lifestyle factors which promote independence and wellbeing in later life is therefore a priority. People who play a musical instrument tend to perform better on tests of cognitive ability, while findings from neuroimaging studies have documented brain differences between musicians and non-musicians. In addition, research results point to the psychological benefits of music making and appreciation. These findings mostly come from studies of adults and children; thus, less is known regarding the potential advantage of musical experience for older adults. The aim of this project is to examine whether aspects of lifetime musical experience are associated with better cognitive, brain or psychological health in older age. Taking a longitudinal approach, this study will also test whether lifetime musical experience is associated with less decline in these indicators of healthy ageing over time. The specific objectives of this project are as follows: 1) Describe the lifetime musical experience questionnaire - Describe the basic psychometric properties of the lifetime musical experience questionnaire. - Describe the socio-demographic, health and cognitive correlates of lifetime musical experience. - Identify items from the questionnaire which will serve as indicators of three latent variables: experience playing a musical instrument, singing and music listening. - Make a final version of the questionnaire available to other researchers. 2) Examine associations between experience playing a musical instrument and cognitive function - Test if experience playing a musical instrument is associated with lifetime change in cognitive function between ages 11 and 70. - Examine whether experience playing a musical instrument predicts level or change in cognitive ability between ages 70 and 82, across four key domains of cognitive ability (verbal memory, crystallised ability, visuospatial reasoning and processing speed). 3) Examine associations between experience playing a musical instrument and biomarkers of brain health. - Test whether experience playing a musical instrument is associated with level or change in normal appearing white or grey matter volume or white matter microstructure in older age. 4) Examine associations between different aspects of lifetime musical experience and psychological wellbeing in older age. - Test if experience playing a musical instrument, singing or music listening is associated with level or change in positive or negative wellbeing in older age. 5) Develop research and technical skills - Gain project management experience. - Receive training on analysis of brain MRI variables. - Continue to develop expertise in structural equation modelling. 6) Develop knowledge exchange experience and skills - Take part in social media training. - Share findings with stakeholder groups through science communication events and online. - Develop professional network by attending conferences and working with new collaborators.

Lay abstract: From nursery rhymes to playing in a band or joining a choir in retirement, our lives are punctuated by music. These are life-enhancing experiences for many of us, but could making or listening to music also help us tackle challenges related to ageing? As a global population, we are aging rapidly. This trend brings many challenges, as people often suffer from poorer health and declining memory and thinking skills in older age. Listening to music and music making are unique mentally demanding tasks which involve the combination of different mental processes including attention, emotion, memory, and in the case of playing a musical instrument, physical coordination and skill. Findings from previous studies have documented the benefits of playing a musical instrument in terms of better cognitive or language development in children and improved performance on tests of cognitive function in adults. Neuroimaging studies of brain structure indicate that musical training is associated with certain brain differences. In addition, other studies have documented the psychological benefits of various forms of musical experience including playing an instrument, singing and listening to music. Less is known regarding the potential association between musical experience and outcomes in older age. In particular, it is unclear whether musical experience is related to changes in cognitive function, brain structure or psychological wellbeing in older age. The aim of the proposed project is to examine these potential associations. I will examine associations between musical experience and healthy ageing using data from the Lothian Birth Cohort study 1936 (LBC1936). Every three years, since the age of 70, LBC1936 participants have completed an extremely detailed battery of thinking and memory tests. Participants have had multiple brain MRI scans and provided extensive health, demographic, psychological and lifestyle data. Importantly, a measure of cognitive ability in childhood is also available for these participants. At the most recent wave of the study, at age 82, participants completed a lifetime musical experience questionnaire. The questionnaire provides a detailed retrospective account of lifetime musical instrument training and practice. It also assesses other aspects of lifetime musical experience including singing and music listening. Using these data, I will address the following unresolved questions: 1) what are the demographic, health, and childhood cognitive characteristics of people with high levels of lifetime musical experience? This work will help establish whether the association between musical experience and healthy ageing might be causal, or simply a by-product of another factor which influences both musical experience and ageing outcomes (e.g. socioeconomic status). 2) Is experience playing a musical instrument related to lifetime cognitive change? Cognitive function in childhood is one of the main predictors of cognitive function in older age, in this study I will test if people with more experience playing a musical instrument tend to have higher cognitive abilities at age 70 than would be expected given their cognitive ability at age 11. 3) Is experience playing a musical instrument related to level or change in cognitive ability or brain structure in older age? 4) Is experience playing a musical instrument, singing or music listening related to level or change in psychological wellbeing in older age? In testing these questions, I will statistically control for the factors, identified in the first study, which might account for associations between musical experience and cognitive, brain or psychological health in older age. My results could lay the groundwork for establishing whether musical experience - and experience playing a musical instrument in particular - is beneficial for older people.

Research activity codes: 2.3 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH