MLA Header with Page Number Bond 1. This article states that learning to play a musical instrument increases neuroplasticity and

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1 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 1 James Bond Mr. Yupanqui ENGL 112-D46L 25 March 2019 Annotated Bibliography Commented [BY1]: MLA Heading Bergland, Christopher. Musical Training Optimizes Brain Function. Psychology Today, 13 Nov. 2013, training-optimizes-brain-function. Accessed 27 Mar Commented [BY2]: MLA Citation This article states that learning to play a musical instrument increases neuroplasticity and that it can be used to treat a wide variety of learning disabilities. Author Christopher Bergland provides three benefits of musical training; he states that musicians have an enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from information from other senses, that playing a musical instrument as a child affects one s brain anatomy as an adult, and that playing a musical instrument causes the brain to rely less upon memory and thus leads to more connectivity between different areas. In this article, Bergland describes three studies that were conducted to determine whether or not musicians have better neuroplasticity than non-musicians. The first study was conducted to specifically test whether or not musicians are better than non-musicians at differentiating sound and touch when applied at the same time. The results of the experiment were as expected; when musicians heard two sounds while receiving one touch, they were able to differentiate between the stimulations and determine that they did not receive two touch sensations, contrary to the reports of non-musicians. The second study, using brain scans, determined that brain parts associated with hearing and self-awareness were larger in adults aged nineteen to twenty-one who had completed at least one year of musical training as adolescents

2 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 2 than in adults of the same age group who had not. The third study consisted of conducting MRI scans of thirty-nine different pianists while they played a twelve-key piano keyboard. It found that pianists who had more experience in jazz improvisation exhibited higher connectivity between the three major regions of the frontal lobe and less connectivity between brain regions associated with organizing and planning; Bergland states that this means that musicians who are extensively trained in improvisation are able to play music with little conscious attention. I will be using this source as support for my argument that playing a musical instrument Commented [BY3]: Article summary 4-8 sentences biologically affects cognition. I will be focusing upon Bergland s statement that, in the brains of musicians who began lessons before the age of seven, regions associated with hearing and selfawareness have a high concentration of gray matter and thus a thicker cerebral cortex. I will also focus upon Bergland s statement that musicians brains tend to rely more upon connectivity and constant change than memory. Bergland states that, in the third study that he conducted, jazz musicians who were skilled in improvisation showed high connectivity between certain parts of the frontal lobe, which is associated with emotional expression and problem solving. He also states that these musicians exhibited a lack of connectivity between brain parts associated with memory and organization. Due to the fact that jazz is a genre which incorporates improvisation much more heavily than other genres such as rock or flamenco, I will be exploring the possibility that jazz musicians have the best neuroplasticity out of all types of musicians. Bergland also states that damaged neuroplasticity can be improved through playing a musical instrument; I will be tying this into my second source, which talks about how learning to play a musical instrument affects the neuroplasticity of stroke survivors. Grau-Sánchez, Jennifer, et al. Plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex induced by Music-supported Commented [BY4]: How will you use this in your paper? 4-8 sentences

3 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 3 Therapy in Stroke Patients: A TMS Atudy. FrontiersIn, 3 Sept. 2013, Accessed 27 Mar Similar to Bergland s article, this article also states that playing a musical instrument can improve neuroplasticity. However, this article focuses primarily upon how playing a musical instrument can improve the damaged neuroplasticity of stroke survivors. Multiple studies using different types of therapy were conducted in order to determine whether or not such therapies improved motor function and neuroplasticity in the sensorimotor cortex of stroke survivors. The therapies described in the article include MST (music supported therapy), in which patients undergo one month of intense musical training, and CIT (constraint-induced therapy), in which the patient s paretic limb is used for multiple hours a day while the healthy limb is not used at all. One setback of CIT mentioned by the authors is that, if the healthy limb is in disuse for an extended period of time, one s brain may learn to avoid using it. The authors also state that the presence of musical training during the learning of motor skills requires intense and somewhat novel actions from the central nervous system. The authors provide extensive and detailed information regarding their testing methods as well as graphs and brain scans to show the results of these methods. The authors conclude the article by stating that music almost always invokes an emotional response from the listener, and thus MST should take that factor into account, as well as the idea that the improvement of neuroplasticity depends on whether or not the subject finds motivational value in the activities involved. I intend to use this source to support my argument. I will focus upon the authors statement that MST improves the damaged neuroplasticity of stroke patients, and thus does, in fact, biologically affect cognition. Similar to the first article, this article also

4 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 4 provides substantial evidence to support my sub-argument that playing a musical instrument requires constant interaction between different areas of the brain. I will also use the authors statement that playing a musical instrument decreases one s motor threshold to support my argument; this means that it will require less psychological effort for a person to exert a physical movement. Similar to aforementioned findings on the effects of jazz improvisation on neuroplasticity, this article mentions that motor skill acquisition is favorable over repetitive motor training because it requires constant change and actions, whereas repetitive motor training can be easily learned and thus does not require much neural effort from the participant. Miendlarzewska, Ewa A., and Wiebke J. Trost. How Musical Training Affects Cognitive Development: Rhythm, Reward and Other Modulating Variables. FrontiersIn, 20 Jan Accessed 27 Mar This source will also be used as support for my argument. In summary, the main idea of this article is that learning to play a musical instrument as a child results in multiple benefits such as improved verbal memory, improved pronunciation abilities in second languages, and even improved IQ. The authors of this article focus primarily on the biological changes that occur during musical training but also mentions the effects that motivation and social context have in the long-term benefits of learning to play a musical instrument. Similar to the first two articles mentioned, this article states that music training incorporates neuroplastic changes in multiple areas of the brain such as those dealing with auditory stimulation and motor functions. The article also mentions that there is an important and often overlooked difference between the effects of listening to music and playing music, and that performing musical pieces in a group can lead to

5 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 5 improved communication skills as well as an improved sense of empathy. Like the authors of the first two articles, the authors of this article bring up the importance of the age at which one begins musical training. They also mention the role that critical and sensitive periods play in learning to play and even listen to music; if one s brain structures are not properly formed by the end of the critical period, they will not be able to do such things. Another point brought up in this article is that motivation plays in an important role in one s ability to learn a musical instrument. One somewhat controversial idea that the authors share is the idea that musicality (musical abilities such as pitch perception) are hereditary and thus a product of nature rather than nurture. I will be using this source to further support my argument by providing evidence that playing a musical instrument affects different brain parts at the same time, and that it requires constant attention from multiple different neurological systems. Reuell, Peter. Muting the Mozart Effect. Harvard Gazette, 11 Dec. 2013, Accessed 28 Mar Reuell s article claims that learning to play a musical instrument as a child has no effect on cognition. He describes a study that he conducted on fifteen children of the same age and residential area to determine whether or not playing a musical instrument affects cognition. Although his description of the methods used to test the children are very vague, he states that he tested the children for vocabulary and their parents for music aptitude. After the study was over, Mehr realized that its population was far too small and decided to conduct a similar study using forty-five children and forty-five parents, half of whom had received musical training at some point in their lives. Reuell mentions that

6 MLA Header with Page Number Bond 6 Mehr s studies included pooling the children into groups of visual arts training, music training, and no training. Mehr stated that, even when the results of all of the groups from the two different studies were pooled together, no evidence could be found to support the claim that playing an instrument affects cognition. Mehr also states that, although his studies showed that playing a musical instrument does not affect cognition, he believes that teaching children how to play music is of great cultural importance. Reuell mentions at the end of his article that he modeled it after the works of author and presidential speechwriter William Safire. I intend to use this source to address and refute the counterargument that learning to play a musical instrument does not affect cognition in any way. I have found several outstanding issues with Reuell s argument, most of them having to do with the absolute basics of psychology (i.e. he writes about psychology yet does not seem to understand some of the very basic concepts that are taught to psychology students in the very early stages of their educations.) I will also be critiquing the testing strategies used in Mehr s study.