SSS 2008-03-05（在线收听）

This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute?

Are smarter people drown to music, theater and dance? Or does arts training in childhood change the brain in positive ways? In 2004, the philanthropic Dana Foundation created a consortium of neuroscientists from 7 universities to address those questions. On March 4th, the group released a report "Learning arts in the brain" available at dana.org. Some of the findings: an interesting performing arts helps to develop sustained attention spans which can improve other areas of cognition. Links exist between training in music and the ability to manipulate information in both short-term and long-term memory. Music training also appears to improve kids' capacity for geometric representation as well as the acquisition of reading skills. Acting classes lead to improved memory if you've better language skills. Dance learning is done through observation and mimicry and that training appears to improve other cognitive skills. So science says that dance, theatre and music can make life full of sound and glory,signifying something.

Thanks for the minute for a Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky.