Notes From Gordon: Boost Your Aging Brain With... Soul Music?

From The Article: “Long-term musical training may mitigate… age-related decline… by enhancing cognitive reserve, according to a study… musical training promotes a more youthful functional connectivity pattern, leading to superior behavioral outcomes..."

A Note From Gordon: Study, schmudy. Who needs it? I, your humble author, am living proof of “functional connectivity” leading to “superior behavioral outcomes.”

Yes, Sirree. Every time my geriatric frontal lobe threatens to lose another few cells, I get out my black, 1991 Fender Precision bass (did I mention that it’s black?) and lay down some serious grooves.

I’m not talkin’ your lame, white-as-snow, pansy a** bass lines behind the likes of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

I’m talkin’ bad boy, Bobby Womack, croakin’ out Nobody Wants You When You’re Down And Out, or the Four Tops belting out Bernadette. Now, that’s some serious cognitive enhancing senior stimulation, right there.

But when it comes to truly thwarting age related decline (…can I get a witness?) and taking functional connectivity to the next level (…help me, Jesus!), nothing beats layin’ it down to James Brown.

As for you, Dear Reader, when was the last time you replenished your cognitive reserve?

To aid you in this essential exercise, I give you Mr. Brown taking over the entire Tonight Show on July 12, 1982 as an audience of mostly very white people are born again.

Get up out of your chair and party!