Among these, working memory (WM) refers to the ability to retrieve, monitor, analyze, integrate, chunk and recall within a short time span both auditory and non-auditory information ( Herholz et al., 2009 Hansen et al., 2013 for reviews, see, e.g., Kraus and Chandrasekaran, 2010 Reybrouck and Brattico, 2015 Schlaug, 2015). In the literature, far transfer effects relates to the influence of musical training on general (not confined to the auditory domain) cognitive functions, such as spatial ( Gromko and Poorman, 1998 Rauscher, 2002 Brochard et al., 2004 Sluming et al., 2007), mathematical ( Cheek and Smith, 1999), and non-verbal ( Forgeard et al., 2008) abilities. Hence, musicians show increased auditory perception and production abilities, such as enhanced capacity to detect deviations in complex regularities and tone patterns ( Tervaniemi, 2001, 2009 Fujioka et al., 2004 Zuijen et al., 2004 Van Zuijen et al., 2005 Bangert and Schlaug, 2006 Herholz et al., 2009) as well as fine motor control ( Krings et al., 2000 Koeneke et al., 2004 Vuust et al., 2005 Kleber et al., 2013 Burunat et al., 2015).īesides improving listening and sensorimotor abilities closely linked to the musical practice ( Schellenberg, 2011), there is also evidence in favor of the far transfer effect to non-musical functions. Long-term musical training engages and trains all those functions on a daily basis and, as a result, musicians seem to improve not only music-related abilities, but also domain-general skills. Indeed, reading, listening, understanding and performing polyphonic music require the simultaneous processing of sounds and rhythms, higher order perceptual processing and fine sensory-motor coordination ( Münte et al., 2002). Musical training is a multisensory experience engaging multiple cognitive functions and underlying neural networks. Introduction Musical Training Relies on Executive Functions Significant positive correlations between years of musical playing and cognitive abilities support the hypothesis that long-term musical practice is associated with intelligence and executive functions. Musicians show higher general intelligence (FSIQ), verbal intelligence (VIQ), working memory (WMI) and attention skills than non-musicians. Hence, our study offers further support for the association between cognitive abilities and musical training, even in adulthood. Moreover, linear regression models showed significant positive relationships between executive functions (working memory and attention) and the duration of musical practice, even after controlling for intelligence and background variables, such as personality traits. After being matched for socio-economic status, personality traits and other demographic variables, adult musicians exhibited higher cognitive performance than non-musicians in all the mentioned measures. Aiming to shed new light on this topic, we administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III), the Wechsler Memory Scale III (WMS-III), and the Stroop Test to 101 Finnish healthy adults grouped according to their musical expertise (non-musicians, amateurs, and musicians). In contrast, in adults the relationship between cognitive performance and musicianship is less clear and seems to be modulated by a number of background factors, such as personality and socio-economic status. 3Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandĬonverging evidence has demonstrated that musical training is associated with improved perceptual and cognitive skills, including executive functions and general intelligence, particularly in childhood.2Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University – The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark.1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.Antonio Criscuolo 1 Leonardo Bonetti 2 Teppo Särkämö 3 Marina Kliuchko 2 Elvira Brattico 2*
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |