I just read an article on how piano players have different brains than other people. Now before you say to yourself - that's because they are all crazy - please read on. One of the main differences is that there is almost no discernable difference in their brains in the areas that govern left or right-handedness. I guess this is one of the reasons that piano lessons are a great form of rehabilitation post stroke. Here is the article:
http://m.mic.com/articles/91329/science-shows-how-piano-players-brains-are-actually-different-from-everybody-elses.
Several years ago I taught a delightful lady in her late fifties who had recently suffered a stroke. She described the incident and it really terrified me since stroke runs in my family.
As a result of her stroke, her right side - which was previously her dominant side, was weakened considerably. I was uncertain at first as to whether piano lessons would be ideal for her considering her injury. She told me that she had always wanted to play and loved the piano - so how could I refuse.
We started off slowly, getting used to the keyboard and getting comfortable with the finger numbers. One hand at a time went quite well, though her weakened right hand was not as adept. I decided to have her use both hands together to have the now stronger left hand "teach" the right hand. After a while this started to work very well.
Over the months that we worked together, my student gained a lot of ability in her weakened hand and arm. She also got to learn some great tunes.
Here are some great articles on piano lessons and stroke recovery.
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00662/full
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/srt/2013/159105/
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