May 2001

In this month's newsletter we have some thoughts on how music might contribute to changes in the brain, and comments on a proposed new 'Chris Tarrant-style' game show for children.

Now you know why musicians are different!

Brain scanning has revealed how years of music practice have changed the brains of professional musicians.

Research announced to the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting this month has shown how musicians have more "grey matter" - or brain cells, in certain key regions.

Professor Gottfried Schlaug, a German expert, looked at 15 professional male musicians, and 15 non-musicians. He used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to chart the various regions of their brains. The findings were clear-cut: the musicians had more grey matter in at least four regions of the brain. These are regions that are sometimes associated with skills useful to musicians - for example, the ability to co-ordinate movements in response to visual cues, or process auditory cues.

Professor Schlaug said: "Additional study is necessary to confirm causal relationships between intense motor training for a long period of time and structural changes in motor and non-motor related brain regions. "An alternative explanation may be that these musicians were born with these differences, which may draw them towards their musical gifts."

There have been other findings, which suggest that the brain can be reshaped in response to repetitive tasks. Taxi drivers given brain scans by scientists at University College London, UK, had a larger hippocampus compared with other people. This is a part of the brain associated with navigation in birds and animals. The scientists also found part of the hippocampus grew larger as the taxi drivers spent more time in the job.

Dr Eleanor Maguire, who led that research team, said that it would be difficult to prove that the brain changes were due to musical practice. She said: "In the last two years, there has been a fair bit of research in rats and primates looking at neurogenesis - where the new neurons are produced - and that has found that the hippocampus in particular has something to do with learning. "Whether these changes can take place in the other areas of the cortex, which this study talks about, is just not known at the moment."

Researcher Gordon Shaw has suggested that early training in a musical instrument, say at the age of 3 or 4, can improve the child's capacity to identify patterns in space and time. 'This provides a strong argument for retaining peripatetic music teaching and involvement with the musical arts in our schools', says Alistair Smith. 'A key feature of this has to be active engagement rather than passive engagement. Simply listening to pieces of music will not necessarily create the neural re-organisation which scientists call neurogenesis.'

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Plans were announced last week by a television production company for a quiz show along the lines of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to find Britain's brainiest youngster. The programme which has the support of television personality Carole Vorderman and an expert in the education of able children Dr David George amongst others has caused concern amongst some parents and educationalists. They are worried about the consequences for children who fail and how they might cope with possible ridicule back at school. Success might also carry unfortunate consequences. ''Who would want to be branded as an egghead for the rest of their life?' said Doreen Miller, a parent from St Albans.

What are your thoughts about these quizzes? Are they celebrating excellence, or are they putting unbearable pressure on bright youngsters? Visit our discussion forums to have your say.

Are you excited by the world of brain-based and accelerated learning? A number of career opportunities exist within Alite for talented individuals with a keen interest in education and learning. If you would like to join our team, please answer the following questions and send your answer with a brief CV to opportunities@alite.co.uk, or by post to

Alistair Smith
Alite Ltd
Bourne End Business Park
Cores End Road
Bourne End
Bucks SL8 5AS

Questions:

Please explain in no more than 100 words what interests you about Accelerated Learning
How has your knowledge of Accelerated Learning techniques affected your work to date?