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Text I
The BNCC and Twenty-First Century Skills
The most ambitious feature of the BNCC, which only appeared in the document’s third version, was to establish ten core competencies that all students should develop throughout basic education, starting in early childhood. These competencies include lifelong learning, critical thinking, aesthetic sensibilities, communication skills, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, self-care, empathy, citizenship and ethics. The core competencies broaden the goals of basic education well-beyond academic skills to twenty-first century skills widely regarded as essential to preparing the next generations for the challenges of the 4th industrial revolution.
As ambitious as it was, the BNCC was criticized for the lack of explicit links between the ten core competencies and the subject specific competencies and skills, leaving cities and states with the responsibility of making these links themselves. In addition to this, the core competencies are not generally integrated into teacher training programs and are often de-prioritized for the more basic literacy and numeracy needs. In this context, the Ministry of Education and its partners in the third sector have developed orientations, produced videos and online courses aimed at filling this gap, and helped cities and states integrate the ten core competencies in their curricula.
[…]
Ensuring all Brazilian students master the ten core competencies laid out by the BNCC by the end of high school is a long-term, extremely ambitious goal. Before we can set a timeframe for when we will be able to achieve this feat, we need to know where we stand. Due to the core competencies’ complexity, each involves several skills, attitudes and sometimes values, it is unclear whether we will be capable of measuring all ten of them and by when. Until then we are in the company of the OECD, which is already tackling this challenge and will likely pave the way for Brazil in this respect
Note: BNCC: Base Nacional Comum Curricular;
OECD: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Adapted from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-41882-3_2
Text I
The BNCC and Twenty-First Century Skills
The most ambitious feature of the BNCC, which only appeared in the document’s third version, was to establish ten core competencies that all students should develop throughout basic education, starting in early childhood. These competencies include lifelong learning, critical thinking, aesthetic sensibilities, communication skills, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, self-care, empathy, citizenship and ethics. The core competencies broaden the goals of basic education well-beyond academic skills to twenty-first century skills widely regarded as essential to preparing the next generations for the challenges of the 4th industrial revolution.
As ambitious as it was, the BNCC was criticized for the lack of explicit links between the ten core competencies and the subject specific competencies and skills, leaving cities and states with the responsibility of making these links themselves. In addition to this, the core competencies are not generally integrated into teacher training programs and are often de-prioritized for the more basic literacy and numeracy needs. In this context, the Ministry of Education and its partners in the third sector have developed orientations, produced videos and online courses aimed at filling this gap, and helped cities and states integrate the ten core competencies in their curricula.
[…]
Ensuring all Brazilian students master the ten core competencies laid out by the BNCC by the end of high school is a long-term, extremely ambitious goal. Before we can set a timeframe for when we will be able to achieve this feat, we need to know where we stand. Due to the core competencies’ complexity, each involves several skills, attitudes and sometimes values, it is unclear whether we will be capable of measuring all ten of them and by when. Until then we are in the company of the OECD, which is already tackling this challenge and will likely pave the way for Brazil in this respect
Note: BNCC: Base Nacional Comum Curricular;
OECD: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Adapted from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-41882-3_2
( ) The core competencies are not solely restricted to academic skills. ( ) Mastering the ten core competencies by the end of high school can be easily achieved. ( ) The core competencies established by the BNCC for basic education were a later development.
The statements are, respectively:
( ) It is possible to say that the lack of continuing educational courses for English teachers influences poor pedagogical practices in school.
( ) The author expresses optimism for new pedagogical practices and teacher training in view of the changings that have taken place in curricula and educational policies.
( ) “Pathwaysfor Education” and “More English” are printed material resources developed for teachers’ pedagogical improvement.
( ) Essential foundations have been laid to position English training as a vital discipline for integral students’ development. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work and resources needed to achieve this objective.
The sequence is correct only in
I. One of the aspects that impair the implementation of the new educational guidelines mentioned in the text is student’s lack of sufficient language exposure, which may lead to lower English proficiency.
II. The mismatch between the initial training of English teachers in universities and the pedagogical practices required in schools is not considered to be a key factor that jeopardizes students’ English proficiency.
III. It is clear in the text that teachers who have not fully developed English proficiency during their initial training courses may face challenges when it comes to pedagogical practices in the classroom.
IV. Students’ different levels of English proficiency is a crucial factor that could inhibit speaking activities in the classroom.
Which statement is INCORRECT?
( ) The word “opportunity” is cognate, which means it is similar to Portuguese and has the same meaning in English.
( ) The word “improve” is cognate and the word “improbable” is one of its synonyms.
( ) The word “modernize” is a cognate word. It could be substituted by the word “update”.
( ) The word “country” is a false cognate. It seems to be a type of music, but it is actually referring to places far from the city.
The sequence is correct only in:
I. A transition movement in the educational system has been happening due to facts like technology in schools, globalization, digitalization and the growing emphasis given to emotional and social abilities.
II. Bridging different people and cultures and being a highly demanded skill in the job market, the proficiency in English has become indispensable and justify the need for an excellent education in the language.
III. English language has become a mandatory subject at the secondary level in public schools and it is optional in private schools.
IV. A positive impact in the efficiency of English instruction in Brazil is believed to happen as a result of the current reforms in the educational system.
The true statements are
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
Acoording the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT):
I. The communicative approach is based on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning.
II. The movement and approach known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a good example of how a paradigm shift in language teaching reflects these two sources of change.
III. Practising question forms by asking learners to find out personal information about their colleagues is an example of the communicative approach, as it involves meaningful communication.
The correct staments are:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
TEXT 1
Why is music good for the brain?
October 7, 2020
By Andrew E. Budson, MD, Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
1. Can music really affect your well-being, learning, cognitive function, quality of life, and even happiness? Hand in a recent survey on music and brain health conducted by AARP revealed some interesting findings about the impact of music on cognitive and emotional well-being: music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being and slightly reduced levels of anxiety and depression compared to people overall.
2. Of survey respondents who currently go to musical performances, 69% rated their brain health as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 58% for those who went in the past and 52% for those who never attended. Of those who reported often being exposed to music as a child, 68% rated their ability to learn new things as “excellent” or “very good,” compared to 50% of those who were not exposed to music.
3. Active musical engagement, including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive function. Adults with no early music exposure but who currently engage in some music appreciation show above average mental well-being scores. Those are pretty impressive results, to be sure. However, this 20-minute online survey has some limitations. For one, it included 3,185 US adults ages 18 and older; that is a small number if you are extrapolating to 328 million people across the country. For another, it is really a survey of people’s opinions. For example, although people might report their brain health as “excellent,” there was no objective measure of brain health such as an MRI scan, or even a test to measure their cognition.
4. Lastly, even if the ratings were true, the findings are only correlations. They do not prove that, for example, it was the exposure to music as a child that led to one’s improved ability to learn new things. It may be equally likely that those children brought up in more affluent households were both more likely to be exposed to music and to be given a good education that led to their being able to easily learn new things later in life.
5. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that’s just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. Music also activates a variety of memory regions. And, interestingly, music activates the motor system. In fact, it has been theorized that it is the activation of the brain’s motor system that allows us to pick out the beat of the music even before we start tapping our foot to it!
6. Okay, get along! so music activates just about all of the brain. Why is that so important? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”? It turns out this is actually true in the brain. Brain pathways — and even whole networks — are strengthened when they are used and are weakened when they are not used. The reason is that the brain is efficient; it isn’t going to bother keeping a brain pathway strong when it hasn’t been used in many years. The brain will use the neurons in that pathway for something else. These types of changes should be intuitively obvious to you — that’s why it is harder to speak that foreign language if you haven’t used it in 20 years; many of the old pathways have degraded and the neurons are being used for other purposes.
BUDSON, Andrew E. Why is music good for the brain? Harvard Health Publishing, 7 out. 2020. Disponível em:
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