The benefits of music to keep the brain young and promote longevity with sound healing therapy
If for Plato “music is for the soul what gymnastics is for the body”, for neuroscience, music is an anti-aging for the brain because it acts positively on brain plasticity. As he explained Daniela Perani, professor of Neuroscience at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, during his speech at Milan Longevity Summit: “Music is a universal feature of human culture. Not only that, the neural responses to the language of music are largely innate, man is biologically programmed to process these complex stimuli and have reactions to sounds since birth.” According to a study carried out by Perani on newborns just a few days old, it emerged that sound is already processed mainly by the right hemisphere of the brain just as it is in adults, which suggests that we are born with the ability to decode music.
The benefits, both for the listener and for the player, are numerous and involve multiple brain functions. For this reason, prolonged exposure to sounds and melodies can be considered a therapy to promote longevity.
The benefits of music for the brain and longevity
There brain plasticity It is the ability of our brain to adapt and modify its structure and function as an adaptive response to internal and external demands. During aging, neural plasticity tends to decrease: “Music appears as an enrichment strategy that can preserve cognitive functions and brain health,” said Professor Perani. Neuroscience, through the use of advanced neuroimaging technologies, has dedicated itself to the study and measurement of the effects of music on emotions, language, development and functioning of the brain and it has emerged that:
- Activate the empathy circuit.
- It stimulates the release of dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter, and oxytocin, defined as the love hormone because it is implicated in relationships and attachment.
- It decreases levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress.
- It activates the same structures as language in the brain.
- The reward circuit triggered by dopamine stimulates motivation, and language-related structures.
