Music influences the neuronal development in children

Neurons are the oldest and longest cells in the body! You have many of the same neurons for your whole life. Although other cells die and are replaced, many neurons are never replaced when they die. In fact, you have fewer neurons when you are old compared to when you are young. On the other hand, data published in November 1998 show that in one area of the brain (the hippocampus), new neurons CAN grow in adult humans.

Neurons can be quite large - in some neurons, such as corticospinal neurons (from motor cortex to spinal cord) or primary afferent neurons (neurons that extend from the skin into the spinal cord and up to the brain stem), can be several feet long!

Music influences the neuronal development in children

It was Luciano Pavarotti who said, "If children are not introduced to music at an early age, I believe something fundamental is actually being taken from them." Music affects mood, concentration, creativity, and influences the ability to learn.

Neuronal connections in the brain of the infant and young child are formed through experiences and strengthened through repetitions until predictable pathways of cognitive processing are established. Once these pathways are formed, it is as though they are hardwired and cannot be changed without much effort. Music and rhythm is essential to the developing brain as it helps to create and strengthen more neural connections that allow for auditory processing. The act of processing music stimuli elaborates these neural connections in the brain, influencing processing quality of auditory stimuli over the lifetime.