Research line coordinated by Lucía Vaquero.
Music implies a great stimulation to our brain, recruiting neural regions involved in a great array of functions, from motor areas to language centers or regions involved in emotional processing and multisensory integration. Music experience has consistently been described as an activity able to plastically alter the human brain, both structurally and functionally, eliciting changes in behavior and cognition as well. Further, research has shown that individuals who have practiced music during their lifetime possess better cognitive reserve which, in the long term, is associated with better quality of life during old age. In that sense, our main goal in the laboratory is to explore the potential beneficial effect of music experience and music-based interventions along the lifespan, with the fundamental aim of preserving brain and cognitive functions during both normal and pathological ageing.