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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 Commenting on the study, Rauscher said, "It certainly supports a lot of the research that we've done in the past." The Canadian researcher's results deviate from her own, she said, "in that they found this effect for general intelligence."
Rauscher's work has tended to focus on music's effects on spatial intelligence -- the ability to think through three-dimensional puzzles without resorting to an actual model.
Although it remains a theory, she speculated that "understanding music, particularly learning to translate musical symbols into sound, might be transferring to other abilities, because they are sharing similar neuro pathways."
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Both Schellenberg and Rauscher agreed that, ideally, music lessons should be available to children as part of their education.
"We don't have any evidence that music is unique in this regard," Schellenberg said, "but on the other hand it's certainly not bad for you. Our studies suggest that extracurricular activities are indeed enriching to development."
Unfortunately, adults who might feel emboldened to pick up the guitar or stretch their vocal skills may not receive the same boost to brainpower.
"I really think you'll find the strongest effects for young children," Rauscher said. "That's not to say that you won't find anything in adults, but I think it would be a lot harder and would really take a lot longer."
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To learn more about early learning, visit the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (www.fpg.unc.edu ). Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3
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