Musical Training Reduces Anxiety in Children

A new study says that musical training helps children control emotions, focus better and reduce anxiety

 A University of Vermont College of Medicine research team says playing music changes the motor areas of the brain.

The teams said that practicing music influenced thickness in the part of the cortex that relates to "executive functioning, including working memory, attentional control, as well as organization and planning for the future".

James Hudziak, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, and colleagues said the study was "the largest investigation of the association between playing a musical instrument and brain development."

The researchers looked at data from the National Institutes of Health Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development data and examined brain scans of 232 children aged between  6 and 18.

Hudziak and his team discovered that cortical thickening or thinning in specific areas of the brain influenced anxiety and other behavioral issues in children. This has led the authors to believe that many psychological issues can be tackled by introducing children to music.

Study author Hudziak emphasized  that a violin is better at combating psychological disorders in children better than a bottle of pills.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.