Magsaman is the founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Ross is the vice president of hardware design at Google. Listening to music or watching a play can help build stronger prefrontal cortex skills like memory. This doesn't mean you have to go out and buy your kid a piano or pay for painting classes. Doesn't matter, Ross says. "It's not about whether the art is good or bad, it's the act of engaging in the art whether it's the making or the beholding" that improves cognition, says Ross.

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Persons: Susan Magsaman, Ivy Ross, Ross Organizations: International, Center, Applied Neuroaesthetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Google