- Feb 5, 2002
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Sixteen hundred years ago, St. Augustine was credited with saying, “He who sings, prays twice.” Today, scientific research shows that he who sings, performs, or listens to music also enriches and strengthens his brain, according to Catholic neuroscientist Kathlyn Gan.
Not only that, but sacred music may produce even more beneficial effects.
Gan, who leads a research laboratory at the University of Toronto, delivered the uplifting news to about 50 people at an Oct. 30 talk at St. Francis de Sales in Burnaby, Ontario.
In her hourlong presentation “The Neuroscience of Sacred Music,” Gan, a former choir director and accompanist, described how research showing that music can be part of a healthy lifestyle that helps counter the mental decline that accompanies aging.
Music can also help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which, in up to 95% of cases, can be driven by nongenetic factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, deafness, brain injury, and social isolation.
Not only does music stimulate the brain in special ways, but it also fosters healthy social connections when performed in a group setting, said Gan, currently a liturgical musician in the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Continued below.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
Not only that, but sacred music may produce even more beneficial effects.
Gan, who leads a research laboratory at the University of Toronto, delivered the uplifting news to about 50 people at an Oct. 30 talk at St. Francis de Sales in Burnaby, Ontario.
In her hourlong presentation “The Neuroscience of Sacred Music,” Gan, a former choir director and accompanist, described how research showing that music can be part of a healthy lifestyle that helps counter the mental decline that accompanies aging.
Music can also help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, which, in up to 95% of cases, can be driven by nongenetic factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, deafness, brain injury, and social isolation.
Not only does music stimulate the brain in special ways, but it also fosters healthy social connections when performed in a group setting, said Gan, currently a liturgical musician in the Archdiocese of Toronto.
Continued below.
Sacred music is good for the brain as well as the soul, neuroscientist says
Scientific research shows that he who sings, performs, or listens to music also enriches and strengthens his brain, according to Catholic neuroscientist Kathlyn Gan.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
