Nonmusicians Experience Early Aging on Working Memory Tasks Compared to Musicians

Background.Previous studies on musicians have revealed better working memory (WM) abilities in musicians than in nonmusicians.This study investigates whether the deterioration of WM with aging is slowed in musicians relative to nonmusicians by assessing their performances across an age continuum.Methods.A cross-sectional descriptive mixed design was used.The study involved 150 participants, 75 musicians, and 75 nonmusicians, with 15 musicians and 15 nonmusicians in each age group (10-19.11,20-29.11,30-39.11,40-49.11,and 50-59.11).Simple and complex spans were measured to assess the participant's WM capacity.Backward Digit Span (BDS) maximum and Reading Span Percent Correct Score Weighted (RS PCSW) scores were calculated.Results.Two-way ANOVA revealed significant main effects of musicianship (p < .001)and age (p < .05) on BDS maximum and RS PCSW scores.A "moderate to large" effect size was noted (p2 = 0.062 to 0.455).Interaction effects were observed for BDS maximum (p = .022)and approached significance for RS PCSW (p = .06).Posthoc analysis revealed that age effects were exclusively present in nonmusicians.Conclusion.Musical training can significantly reduce the cognitive decline associated with aging.It improves WM abilities, thereby minimizing the deleterious effects of aging.