Kyoto University Four-Year Follow-Up Links Sustained Instrument Practice After Age 73 to Preserved Working Memory and Right Putamen Volume

Researchers at Kyoto University re-contacted participants from their 2020 four-month beginner instrument trial. Roughly half maintained practice beyond three years while the rest shifted to non-musical hobbies. At the four-year mark they performed structural and functional MRI focused on the putamen and cerebellum plus standardized verbal working memory tests. The design was a non-randomized longitudinal comparison of two self-selected subgroups drawn from the original small cohort. No baseline differences existed between groups. Continued players maintained performance and showed broader cerebellar activation; discontinuers exhibited measurable memory decline and focal putamen atrophy. This pattern aligns with earlier cross-sectional work on professional musicians but extends it to de-novo training initiated after 70. A key limitation is the absence of randomization and modest sample size; a future adequately powered RCT with active control arms and annual imaging would strengthen causal inference.