We now know from controlled treatment/outcome studies that listening to and playing music is a potent treatment for mental health issues. 400 published scientific papers have proven the old adage that music is medicine. In fact, research demonstrates that adding music therapy to treatment improves symptoms and social functioning among schizophrenics. Further, music therapy has demonstrated efficacy as an independent treatment for reducing depression, anxietyand chronic pain.
Importantly, music education also appears to accelerate brain development in young children, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for processing sound, language development, speech perception and reading skills, according to initial results of a five-year study by USC neuroscientists.
The Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) at USC began the five-year study in 2012, in partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), to examine the impact of music instruction on children's social, emotional and cognitive development.
Their initial study results show that music instruction speeds up the maturation of the auditory pathway in the brain and increases its efficiency. The study, published recently in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, provide evidence of the benefits of music education at a time when many schools around the United States and other countries have either reduced or eliminated music and arts programs.
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