title: Neurocardiological differences between musicians and control subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exercise training is beneficial in health and disease. Part of the training effect materialises in the brainstem due to the exercise-associated somatosensory nerve traffic. Because active music making also involves somatosensory nerve traffic, we hypothesised that this will have training effects resembling those of physical exercise.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared two groups of healthy, young subjects between 18 and 30 years: 25 music students (13/12 male/female, group M) and 28 controls (12/16 male/female, group C), peers, who were non-musicians. Measurement sessions to determine resting heart rate, resting blood pressure and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were held during morning hours.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Groups M and C did not differ significantly in age (21.4 ± 3.0 vs 21.2 ± 3.1 years), height (1.79 ± 0.11 vs 1.77 ± 0.10 m), weight (68.0 ± 9.1 vs 66.8 ± 10.4 kg), body mass index (21.2 ± 2.5 vs 21.3 ± 2.4 kg∙m(-2)) and physical exercise volume (39.3 ± 38.8 vs 36.6 ± 23.6 metabolic equivalent hours/week). Group M practised music daily for 1.8 ± 0.7 h. In group M heart rate (65.1 ± 10.6 vs 68.8 ± 8.3 beats/min, trend P =0.08), systolic blood pressure (114.2 ± 8.7 vs 120.3 ± 10.0 mmHg, P = 0.01), diastolic blood pressure (65.0 ± 6.1 vs 71.0 ± 6.2 mmHg, P < 0.01) and mean blood pressure (83.7 ± 6.4 vs 89.4 ± 7.1, P < 0.01) were lower than in group C. BRS in groups M and C was 12.9 ± 6.7 and 11.3 ± 5.8 ms/mmHg, respectively (P = 0.17).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggest that active music making has training effects resembling those of physical exercise training. Our study opens a new perspective, in which active music making, additionally to being an artistic activity, renders concrete health benefits for the musician.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: J L I
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Burggraaf
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Elffers
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Segeth
authors.forename: F M C
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Austie
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Plug
authors.forename: M G J
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Gademan
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Maan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Man
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Muynck
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soekkha
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simonsz
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: van der Wall
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Schalij
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Swenne