The assessment was done in one session which included estimation of verbal, attention, memory, working memory, intellectual and language functions of the participants. The researchers used the American Adult Reading Test to estimate the premorbid verbal intelligence of the participants where they were required to read irregular words which cannot be pronounced correctly using the rules of phonics out loud. This provided a good estimate of the Verbal IQ of the participants on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. It was also a stable and valid measure of the premorbid intellectual functioning of the older demented and non-demented adults.
The verbal intelligence and general intellectual ability of the study participants was estimated through the administration of the information subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and it provided a stable and valid measure despite the advanced age of the participants. The performance of the subject's verbal memory was measuring using the second edition of the California Verbal Learning Test while the performance of the non-verbal memory was measured using the third edition of the Wechsler Memory Scale using the first and second visual reproduction subtests Hanna-Pladdy and MacKay 380()
The auditory attention of the study participants was measured using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Digit Span subtest while the...
The functions of visual attention of the study participants were measured using the spatial span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III. Trails a and B. also helped to measure the cognitive flexibility of the study participants were also used by requesting the subjects to rapidly switch between letters and numbers. Language and verbal functioning was measured using the Boston Naming Test as well as semantic and phonemic fluency Hanna-Pladdy and MacKay 380()
Results
The study results revealed that the participants in the high activity group had better nonverbal memory, naming and executive process performance as compared to the non-musicians. These results gave an indication of a strong effect of musical activity in the lifespan of an individual to preserved functioning of their cognitive ability in the advanced ages. The researchers also conceived that through sustenance of musical activity in early ages of life as well as in the advanced ages, a person is able to maintain their cognitive flexibility Hanna-Pladdy and MacKay 383()
References
Hanna-Pladdy, Brenda, and Alicia MacKay. "The Relation between Instrumental Musical Activity and Cognitive Aging." Neuropsychology 25.3 (2011): 378 --…
