In all the world's cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music. It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music. Experts are finding that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits. Music education has received a lot of attention. Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills. One study in Canada tracked children's IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements. The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes uses several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects. For example, reading notes improves spatial   reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions . Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memory. The secret lies in the way the brain processes music. One area near the forehead, the medial prefrontal cortex, connects music with memories stored in two other areas: the amygdale and hippocampus. That's why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago. For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories. With the evidence of music's benefits pouring in, it's no wonder some countries make  music study a part of their education systems. People are recognizing that more than just a  form of entertainment, music is also great for the brain. Scientists are studying music because   _  .
music can be used for medical treatments music plays a very important role in our lives our brains can possess music in different ways music education has received a lot of attention