Musical training in your younger years can prevent mental decline later in life.

According to a Canadian study led by the Rotman Research Institute (RRI) at Baycrest Health Sciences, older adults who had musical training in their youth scored 20 percent better than their non-musician peers on speech identification tests, a measure of cognitive function.

"Musical activities are an engaging form of cognitive brain training, and we are now seeing robust evidence of brain plasticity from musical training not just in younger brains, but in older brains, too," said Gavin Bidelman, who led the study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience.