On the other side we have older adults. Does music have an effect on neuroplasticity of elderly or did the time frame for such adaptation end in childhood? Literature suggest that plasticity is affected by how much a person actively engages in music training and that the regulation of sensitive period onset and duration is not simply by age, but by experience, and thus the presence of enriched environments may prolong sensitive periods or spark the plastic changes (Miendlarzewska & Trost 2014, p. 279). In a study by Hanna-Pladdy and MacKay exactly these aspects were researched. The experiment was done with 70 older people (ages 60-83) and the objective was to find whether musicians with at least 10 years of music training performed better
Sacks adds that “It’s not just a physiological reaction. The parts of the brain that remember music and respond to music are not affected too much in Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.” Music being able to elicit emotions and are connected to past events, which allow those affected with Alzheimer’s to unlock those hidden memories.
Plasticity change between people who learn music and people who does not. Researchers compared people who play music like a professional, people who practice music like a hobby and the non-musical people. They found that the two first categories of people have high volume of gray matter of their brain. The non-musical people have low volume of gray matter of their brain.
Music is a very fascinating universal phenomenon. Almost everyone likes some sort of music, whether it be the twang of a country song or the intensity of a German rap. Music has the ability to completely change the mood of a situation. It has extensively been investigated and used as a form of therapy for the mind. Therefore it would be interesting to see if it had any impact on a person’s physical ability as well.
Emerging Adulthood represents the period of development from late teens through their twenties, mainly focusing on the ages 18-25. This is the period which people start exploring and realizing the capabilities of their lives, which then helps them characterize as adults and no longer teenagers. This topic of psychology is compelling to me because it’s a stage that every adult has lived through, it’s interesting that we have all experienced it differently based on our life circumstances and demographics. It’s interesting to see the changes throughout the years and eventually it will be easier for young people to explore these years as more young adults are going to school nowadays. It teaches me to further understand why emerging adults go through
According to Berlucci and Butchel (2009), plasticity describes an alteration in neural organization. Plasticity may be to blame for several types of behavior changes both short-term and permanent, such as growth, learning, injury, aging, and adaption to various settings. While several authors have attempted to more appropriately define the term, researchers are inclined to relate the theory to essentially any deviation found within the nervous system. Today, the method of behavior change can mostly likely be described by the alteration of synaptic transmission amongst neurons.
Late Adulthood is the last stage of human lifespan development. Human beings are complex in many ways that it is essential that we human understand these crucial development stages in our life to better communicate and prepared for them. At this stage of development, organs in adults work differently or maybe slowly. For example, I observed that when someone is approaching my grandma from a far distance, it is hard for her to identify or sometimes seems blurry to see who the person is even if it is someone she knows, until the person move very close to her before she is able to identify the person; this is as a result to low vision related to aging.
During late adulthood, which begins around 65, many changes will take place. Death, sickness, and aging are some of the things you go through. Everyone is affected at some point. Individuals deal with these changes differently. Gerontology is the science that deals with the aging process. Vision can show impairment as people age. One of the changes in vision is the loss of accommodation of the lens. Most people 65 and older have hardened eye lens and have lost elasticity if the lens. Cataracts can form and vision becomes cloudy and is significantly impaired. Glaucoma is a serious condition that causes pressure to increase within the eye and it can result in blindness. Often hearing decreases with age. The hair cells in the Corti (inner ear) can cause a decrease in hearing frequencies. The ossicles and eardrum have a decrease in the transmittance of mechanical sound waves. Due to aging many elderly people have hearing impairment. Loss of appetite from connective tissue cells replacing taste buds. Skin can become thin, dry, and inelastic as it ages and the skin can fold and wrinkle from sagging.
Weir, Kirsten, and Debbie Nevins. "Music And Your Mind.. (Cover Story)." Current Health Kids 34.1 (2010): 10-12. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.
Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Kate Overy, and Ellen Winner. Effects of Music Training on the Child’s Brain. The Musician's Brain. New York Academy Of Sciences, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. .
Music and the Brain. (n.d.). Music and the Brain. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://tdlc.ucsd.edu/research/highlights/rh-music-and-brain-2011.html
Keikha, Aleme, Hosein Jenabadi, and Habibullah Mirshekar. "The Effect's Of Music On Increasing Motor Skills And Auditory Memory In Mental Retarded Children Aged 15-10 With 65-75IQ (Case Study)." Modern Applied Science 6.4 (2012): 106-111.
Transition from childhood to adulthood is not just age related. It is a shift in the way our mind starts to process things.
There are two different but similar stages in a person’s life: childhood and adulthood. I remember when I was a child, all I ever wanted to do was being an adult. Now that I am an adult or semi adult, I wish to be a child again. Looking back at my childhood everything seemed so easy. Now that I’m out in the “real world” everything seems to be ten times harder. As we continue to grow and develop we go through several stages of life. These characteristics can be distinguished by these similarities and differences: our thoughts in each stage, our actions in each stage, and our experiences.
...in these kinds of music learning environments. All these benefits together have also been linked to longevity, as well as physical and mental health.
Weinberger, Norman M. “Music and the Brain.” Scientific American Special Edition 16.3 (2006): 36-43. Health Source- Consumer Edition. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.