A second study, just published, “confirms and refines findings from an original study published in Neuropsychology in 2011 that revealed that musicians with at least 10 years of instrumental musical training remained cognitively sharp in advanced age…Sustained musical activity over the age of 60 was associated with other nonverbal cognitive benefits, and appeared to compensate for low educational attainment, which is possibly the greatest protection against age-related cognitive declines. This suggests that musical training should be considered an alternative form of education.” Read more here.