Dementia Treatment: An Activity That Will Reduce Progression of the Disease

Health experts are recommending activities that could reduce the progression of dementia — specifically playing musical instruments, reports the International Business Times . This effect was confirmed by a study in the International Journal of Alzheimer's Research UK . Researchers learned that playing an instrument helps shield the brain from eventual malfunction, and delays the risk of dementia onset. The online tool Cognitive Vitality, designed by neuroscientists, revealed that musical training boosts the brain's resiliency, because playing an instrument requires the brain to actively engage in a wide range of cognitive processes, including sensory and motor systems. A Spanish study of 60- to 85-year-olds — some of whom had played musical instruments from childhood while others received training later in life — found that both cohorts exhibited enhanced cognitive function, but the latter experienced a decline when they discontinued training.