Learning, Arts, and the Brain
The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition
2008, 126 pages. The Dana Foundation, 745 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10151, (212) 223-4040, www.dana.org
http://www.dana.org/news/publications/publication.aspx?id=10760
Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a three-year study, is the result of research by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States. For this Dana Consortium study, released in March 2008, researchers grapple with a fundamental question: Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter? The project has, in the judgment of the authors, identified genes involved in predisposition to the arts, and also demonstrated that cognitive improvements are a result of artistic training.