Broca's area supports enhanced visuospatial cognition in orchestral musicians

Nonmusicians With High Music Perception: A Distinct Category in Visuospatial and Surgical Skill Assessment

BACKGROUND

Musicians tend to outperform nonmusicians in spatial tasks and surgical skills, but an unexplored group is nonmusicians with high music perception - musical sleepers.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study of 150 female right-handed first-year medical students, after segregating musicians (M), we identified musical sleepers (S) as nonmusicians who scored more than the sample median in the Mini Profile of Music Perception (MiniPROMS). The rest were classified as nonmusicians with low music perception (N). The performance of the mental rotation (MR) task (n = 150) and surgery knotting task (SP) (n = 49) was evaluated. A correlation analysis was conducted between MR and MP scores (n = 150), and a partial correlation analysis was done for MP and SP (n = 56) while controlling for MR.

RESULTS

M (p < 0.001) and S (p = 0.021) outperformed N in the MRT, but no significant difference existed between S and M. In the SP, there was no difference between S and N. Lastly, MP and MR showed a weak correlation, and after controlling for MR, MP modestly correlated with SP scores (r = 0.268, p = 0.048).

CONCLUSION

Musical sleepers demonstrate better spatial task performance than nonmusicians, although no clear benefit was seen in surgical tasks. Future research is needed to determine if these advantages extend to surgical performance.

Investigating acoustic numerosity illusions in professional musicians

Various studies have reported an association between musical expertise and enhanced visuospatial and mathematical abilities. A recent work tested the susceptibility of musicians and nonmusicians to the Solitaire numerosity illusion finding that also perceptual biases underlying numerical estimation are influenced by long-term music training. However, the potential link between musical expertise and different perceptual mechanisms of quantitative estimation may be either limited to the visual modality or universal (i.e., modality independent). We addressed this question by developing an acoustic version of the Solitaire illusion. Professional musicians and nonmusicians listened to audio file recordings of piano and trombone notes and were required to estimate the number of piano notes. The stimuli were arranged to form test trials, with piano and trombone notes arranged in a way to form the Solitaire pattern, and control trials, with randomly located notes to assess their quantitative abilities in the acoustic modality. In the control trials, musicians were more accurate in numerical estimation than nonmusicians. In the presence of illusory patterns, nonmusicians differed from musicians in the esteem of regularly arranged vs. randomly arranged notes. This suggests that the association between long-term musical training and different perceptual mechanisms underlying numerical estimation may not be confined to the visual modality. However, neither musicians nor nonmusicians seemed to be susceptible to the acoustic version of the Solitaire illusion, suggesting that the emergence of this illusion may be stimulus and task-dependent.

The Influence of Music Reading on Spatial Working Memory and Self-Assessment Accuracy

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Previous research has suggested that Western musicians, who generally demonstrate proficiency in reading musical scores, exhibit superior performance in visuospatial working memory tasks compared to non-musicians. Evidence indicates brain activation in regions such as the left inferior parietal lobe and the right posterior fusiform gyrus during music reading, which are associated with visuospatial processing. This study aimed to explore how musical training influences spatial working memory and to examine the relationship between self-assessment accuracy and cognitive performance.

METHODS

A visuospatial working memory test, the Corsi block-tapping test (CBT), was administered to 70 participants, including 35 musicians with experience in music reading and 35 non-musicians. CBT performances were compared between groups, controlling for sex and age differences using analysis of covariance. Participants were also asked to self-assess their visuospatial capabilities.

RESULTS

Musicians performed significantly better than non-musicians in the CBT and demonstrated greater metacognitive accuracy in evaluating their visuospatial memory capacities. A total of 46.34% of musicians who claimed good performance on the CBT did in fact perform well, in comparison with 14.63% of non-musicians. Sex influenced the outcomes of spatial working memory, while age did not significantly affect performance.

CONCLUSIONS

This self-awareness of visuospatial capabilities reflects a form of metacompetence, encompassing reflective thinking and the ability to assess one's cognitive skills. Furthermore, while differences in spatial working memory between musicians and non-musicians appear to be related to executive functions associated with general music practice, further investigation is needed to explore other potential influences beyond musical experience.

Navigating space: how fine and gross motor expertise influence spatial abilities at different scales

Spatial ability, essential for navigating and interacting with the environment, comprises small-scale (e.g., mental rotation) and large-scale (e.g., spatial navigation) skills. Previous research underscores the influence of motor expertise on these abilities, yet comparative studies among different types of movement experts are limited, especially regarding the impact of gross motor skills on large-scale spatial abilities. This case-control study compared small-scale and large-scale spatial abilities among fine movement experts, gross movement experts, and non-movement experts. Ninety participants (30 per group) were assessed through computer-based spatial ability tests, including the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (PSVT: R), Mental Rotation Test, a navigation task developed in Unity 3D, and Triangle Completion Test (TCT). Fine movement experts excelled in small-scale spatial tasks compared to non-movement experts. Gross movement experts demonstrated superior large-scale spatial abilities, evidenced by lower errors in TCT and higher navigation scores, distinguishing their performance in spatial navigation and orientation from both fine movement experts and non-movement experts. The study highlights the distinct impacts of fine and gross motor expertise on spatial abilities, with gross motor skills particularly benefiting large-scale spatial navigation. These findings suggest potential clinical applications of gross motor training for improving spatial abilities in neurological populations, advocating for further research in immersive virtual environments and exploring lateral dominance effects on spatial performance.

Attention, working memory, and inhibitory control in aging: Comparing amateur singers, instrumentalists, and active controls

Despite the ubiquity of musical activities, little is known about the specificity of their association with executive functions. In this cross-sectional study, we examined this relationship as a function of age. Our main hypotheses were that executive functions would decline in older age, that this relationship would be reduced in singers and instrumentalists compared to nonmusician active controls, and that the amount of musical experience would be more strongly associated with executive functions compared to the specific type of activity. A sample of 122 cognitively healthy adults aged 20-88 years was recruited, consisting of 39 amateur singers, 43 amateur instrumentalists, and 40 nonmusician controls. Tests of auditory processing speed, auditory selective attention, auditory and visual inhibitory control, and auditory working memory were administered. The results confirm a negative relationship between age and executive functions. While musicians' advantages were found in selective attention, inhibitory control, and auditory working memory, these advantages were specific rather than global. Furthermore, most of these advantages were independent of age and experience. Finally, there were only limited differences between instrumentalists and singers, suggesting that the relationship between music-making activities and executive functions may be, at least in part, general as opposed to activity-specific.

EEG microstates are associated with music training experience

Background

Music training facilitates the development of individual cognitive functions and influences brain plasticity. A comprehensive understanding of the pathways and processes through which music affects the human brain, as well as the neurobiological mechanisms underlying human brain perception of music, is necessary to fully harness the plasticity that music offers for brain development.

Aims

To investigate the resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) activity of individuals with and without music training experience, and explore the microstate patterns of EEG signals.

Method

In this study, an analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates from 57 participants yielded temporal parameters(mean duration, time coverage, occurrence, and transition probability)of four classic microstate categories (Categories A, B, C, and D) for two groups: those with music training experience and those without. Statistical analysis was conducted on these parameters between groups.

Results

The results indicate that compared to individuals without music training experience, participants with music training experience exhibit significantly longer mean durations of microstate A, which is associated with speech processing. Additionally, they show a greater time coverage of microstate B, which is associated with visual processing. Transition probabilities from microstate A to microstate B were greater in participants with music training experience compared to those without. Conversely, transition probabilities from microstate A to microstate C and from microstate C to microstate D were greater in participants without music training experience.

Conclusion

Our study found differences in characteristic parameters of certain microstates between individuals with and without music training experience. This suggests distinct brain activity patterns during tasks related to speech, vision, and attention regulation among individuals with varying levels of music training experience. These findings support an association between music training experience and specific neural activities. Furthermore, they endorse the hypothesis of music training experience influencing brain activity during resting states. Additionally, they imply a facilitative role of music training in tasks related to speech, vision, and attention regulation, providing initial evidence for further empirical investigation into the cognitive processes influenced by music training.

The rhythmic mind: brain functions of percussionists in improvisation

Introduction

Percussionists stand out for their expertise in rhythm, with the network for musical rhythm (NMR) serving a vital neurological function in their improvisation, which is deeply rooted in comprehensive musical knowledge. Our research examines the central representations of various improvisation tactics used by percussionists and investigates the interactions between the NMR and other relevant neural networks.

Methods

Twenty-five percussionists participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions, which included two cognitive strategies of improvisation. Structural improvisation (SIMP) emphasized rhythmic patterns, while free improvisation (FIMP) focused on musical spontaneity. Sight-reading scenario served as the reference condition. Paired t-tests were utilized for comparative analyses.

Results

The findings revealed a dynamic interplay characterized by increased activity in the executive control network and NMR, along with decreased activity in the default mode network during SIMP. During FIMP, heightened activity was observed in the executive control network, NMR, limbic, and memory systems. In both SIMP vs. sight-reading and FIMP vs. sight-reading comparisons, the visual network's activity decreased, a trend also observed in the comparative analysis of FIMP vs. SIMP.

Discussion

In SIMP, percussionists leverage external rhythmic signals, resulting in heightened NMR and ECN activity and reduced DMN activity. In contrast, FIMP is characterized by a rise in activity within the NMR, ECN, limbic system, memory system, and reward system, underscoring the vital roles of motivation and memory in the rapid production of spontaneous musical ideas within set frameworks. The diminished activity in the visual network during FIMP compared to SIMP suggests less reliance on visual stimuli in FIMP. These findings suggest that various improvisational tactics may engage different neural pathways.

The effects of musical instrument training on fluid intelligence and executive functions in healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Intervention studiescombiningcognitive and motor demands have reported far-transfer cognitive benefits in healthy ageing. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of music and rhythm intervention on cognition in older adulthood. Inclusion criteria specified: 1) musical instrument training; 2) healthy, musically-naïve adults (≥60 years); 3) control group; 4) measure of executive function. Ovid, PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Library online databases were searched in August 2023. Data from thirteen studies were analysed (N = 502 participants). Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2; Sterne et al., 2019). Random effects models revealed: a low effect on inhibition (d = 0.27,p = .0335); a low-moderate effect on switching (d = -0.39, p = .0021); a low-moderate effect on verbal category switching (d =0.39,p = .0166); and a moderate effect on processing speed (d = 0.47,p < .0001). No effect was found for selective visual attention, working memory, or verbal memory. With regards to overall bias, three studies were rated as "high", nine studies were rated as having "some concerns" and one was rated "low". The meta-analysis suggests that learning to play a musical instrument enhances attention inhibition, switching and processing speed in ageing.

Exploring the role of singing, semantics, and amusia screening in speech-in-noise perception in musicians and non-musicians

Sentence repetition has been the focus of extensive psycholinguistic research. The notion that music training can bolster speech perception in adverse auditory conditions has been met with mixed results. In this work, we sought to gauge the effect of babble noise on immediate repetition of spoken and sung phrases of varying semantic content (expository, narrative, and anomalous), initially in 100 English-speaking monolinguals with and without music training. The two cohorts also completed some non-musical cognitive tests and the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). When disregarding MBEA results, musicians were found to significantly outperform non-musicians in terms of overall repetition accuracy. Sung targets were recalled significantly better than spoken ones across groups in the presence of babble noise. Sung expository targets were recalled better than spoken expository ones, and semantically anomalous content was recalled more poorly in noise. Rerunning the analysis after eliminating thirteen participants who were diagnosed with amusia showed no significant group differences. This suggests that the notion of enhanced speech perception-in noise or otherwise-in musicians needs to be evaluated with caution. Musicianship aside, this study showed for the first time that sung targets presented in babble noise seem to be recalled better than spoken ones. We discuss the present design and the methodological approach of screening for amusia as factors which may partially account for some of the mixed results in the field.

Music training affects listeners' processing of different types of accentuation information: Evidence from ERPs

Previous studies found that prolonged musical training can promote language processing, but few studies have examined whether and how musical training affects the processing of accentuation in spoken language. In this study, a vocabulary detection task was conducted, with Chinese single sentences as materials, to investigate how musicians and non-musicians process corrective accent and information accent in the sentence-middle and sentence-final positions. In the sentence-middle position, results of the cluster-based permutation t-tests showed significant differences in the 574-714 ms time window for the control group. In the sentence-final position, the cluster-based permutation t-tests revealed significant differences in the 612-810 ms time window for the music group and in the 616-812 ms time window for the control group. These significant positive effects were induced by the processing of information accent relative to that of corrective accent. These results suggest that both groups were able to distinguish corrective accent from information accent, but they processed the two accent types differently in the sentence-middle position. These findings show that musical training has a cross-domain effect on spoken language processing and that the accent position also affects its processing.

Music and verbal ability - a twin study of genetic and environmental associations

Musical aptitude and music training are associated with language-related cognitive outcomes, even when controlling for general intelligence. However, genetic and environmental influences on these associations have not been studied, and it remains unclear whether music training can causally increase verbal ability. In a sample of 1,336 male twins, we tested the associations between verbal ability measured at time of conscription at age 18 and two music related variables: overall musical aptitude and total amount of music training before the age of 18. We estimated the amount of specific genetic and environmental influences on the association between verbal ability and musical aptitude, over and above the factors shared with general intelligence, using classical twin modelling. Further, we tested whether music training could causally influence verbal ability using a co-twin-control analysis. Musical aptitude and music training were significantly associated with verbal ability. Controlling for general intelligence only slightly attenuated the correlations. The partial association between musical aptitude and verbal ability, corrected for general intelligence, was mostly explained by shared genetic factors (50%) and non-shared environmental influences (35%). The co-twin-control-analysis gave no support for causal effects of early music training on verbal ability at age 18. Overall, our findings in a sizeable population sample converge with known associations between the music and language domains, while results from twin modelling suggested that this reflected a shared underlying aetiology rather than causal transfer.

The Interlinking of Alpha Waves and Visuospatial Cognition in Motor-Based Domains

The manner in which we perceive and respond in accordance to the world is encompassed by our ability to process multimodal input stimuli. In other words, in order to perform any task, especially at a high degree of proficiency, high dependence is placed upon our ability to interact with, interpret, and visualize input stimuli from our environment, known as visuospatial cognition (Chueh et al., 2017). This article will explore and encapsulate the importance of visuospatial cognition, in terms of the link it has with the performance of tasks in various fields, such as artistry, musical performance, and athleticism. Alpha wave investigation will be discussed as a means of both identifying and characterizing the degree of performance within these domains. Findings from this investigation may be used as a modality to optimize performance in the explored domains (e.g., with Neurofeedback techniques). The limitations of using Electroencephalography (EEG) to support the enhancement of this task performance and the recommendations to elicit further research, will also be explored.

Musical Training and Its Association With Age-Related Changes in Binaural, Temporal, and Spatial Processing

OBJECTIVE

This article aimed to assess the relationship between musical training and age-related changes in binaural, temporal, and spatial processing abilities.

DESIGN

A standard group comparison study was conducted involving both musicians and nonmusicians. The effect of musical training was assessed using a battery of psychoacoustical tests (interaural time and level difference thresholds: ITD & ILD, binaural gap detection threshold, and virtual auditory space identification test) and subjective ratings (Spatial-Hearing subsection of Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing scale in Kannada).

STUDY SAMPLE

A total of 60 participants, between 41 and 70 years, were divided into three groups of 20 each, based on their age (41-50, 51-60, and 61-70 years). Each of these three groups was subdivided into two, one comprising 10 musicians (vocalists practicing South-Indian classical music) and the other comprising 10 nonmusicians.

RESULTS

Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that musicians performed significantly better (p < .001) than nonmusicians in all the tests. Analyses of variance showed that whereas age had no effect (p > .05) on performance in any of the tests in musicians, age affected the performance of nonmusicians significantly in terms of ITD (p = .02) and ILD (p = .01) thresholds.

CONCLUSION

Musical training appears to have the potential to slow down age-related decline in binaural, temporal, and spatial processing.

Exploring the Effects of Brain Stimulation on Musical Taste: tDCS on the Left Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal Cortex—A Null Result

Humans are the only species capable of experiencing pleasure from esthetic stimuli, such as art and music. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a critical role in esthetic judgments, both in music and in visual art. In the last decade, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been increasingly employed to shed light on the causal role of different brain regions contributing to esthetic appreciation. In Experiment #1, musician (N = 20) and non-musician (N = 20) participants were required to judge musical stimuli in terms of “liking” and “emotions”. No significant differences between groups were found, although musicians were slower than non-musicians in both tasks, likely indicating a more analytic judgment, due to musical expertise. Experiment #2 investigated the putative causal role of the left dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC) in the esthetic appreciation of music, by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Unlike previous findings in visual art, no significant effects of tDCS were found, suggesting that stimulating the left DLPFC is not enough to affect the esthetic appreciation of music, although this conclusion is based on negative evidence,.

Musical Performance in Adolescents with ADHD, ADD and Dyslexia—Behavioral and Neurophysiological Aspects

Research has shown that dyslexia and attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (AD(H)D) are characterized by specific neuroanatomical and neurofunctional differences in the auditory cortex. These neurofunctional characteristics in children with ADHD, ADD and dyslexia are linked to distinct differences in music perception. Group-specific differences in the musical performance of patients with ADHD, ADD and dyslexia have not been investigated in detail so far. We investigated the musical performance and neurophysiological correlates of 21 adolescents with dyslexia, 19 with ADHD, 28 with ADD and 28 age-matched, unaffected controls using a music performance assessment scale and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Musical experts independently assessed pitch and rhythmic accuracy, intonation, improvisation skills and musical expression. Compared to dyslexic adolescents, controls as well as adolescents with ADHD and ADD performed better in rhythmic reproduction, rhythmic improvisation and musical expression. Controls were significantly better in rhythmic reproduction than adolescents with ADD and scored higher in rhythmic and pitch improvisation than adolescents with ADHD. Adolescents with ADD and controls scored better in pitch reproduction than dyslexic adolescents. In pitch improvisation, the ADD group performed better than the ADHD group, and controls scored better than dyslexic adolescents. Discriminant analysis revealed that rhythmic improvisation and musical expression discriminate the dyslexic group from controls and adolescents with ADHD and ADD. A second discriminant analysis based on MEG variables showed that absolute P1 latency asynchrony |R-L| distinguishes the control group from the disorder groups best, while P1 and N1 latencies averaged across hemispheres separate the control, ADD and ADHD groups from the dyslexic group. Furthermore, rhythmic improvisation was negatively correlated with auditory-evoked P1 and N1 latencies, pointing in the following direction: the earlier the P1 and N1 latencies (mean), the better the rhythmic improvisation. These findings provide novel insight into the differences between music processing and performance in adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental disorders. A better understanding of these differences may help to develop tailored preventions or therapeutic interventions.

Balance Expertise Is Associated with Superior Spatial Perspective-Taking Skills

Balance training interventions over several months have been shown to improve spatial cognitive functions and to induce structural plasticity in brain regions associated with visual-vestibular self-motion processing. In the present cross-sectional study, we tested whether long-term balance practice is associated with better spatial cognition. To this end, spatial perspective-taking abilities were compared between balance experts (n = 40) practicing sports such as gymnastics, acrobatics or slacklining for at least four hours a week for the last two years, endurance athletes (n = 38) and sedentary healthy individuals (n = 58). The balance group showed better performance in a dynamic balance task compared to both the endurance group and the sedentary group. Furthermore, the balance group outperformed the sedentary group in a spatial perspective-taking task. A regression analysis across all participants revealed a positive association between individual balance performance and spatial perspective-taking abilities. Groups did not differ in executive functions, and individual balance performance did not correlate with executive functions, suggesting a specific association between balance skills and spatial cognition. The results are in line with theories of embodied cognition, assuming that sensorimotor experience shapes cognitive functions.

Non-invasive brain stimulation in modulation of mental rotation ability: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mental rotation, the ability to manipulate mental images, is an important function in human cognition. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation in modulation of this component of visuo-spatial perception. The PubMed database was reviewed prior to 31 September 2020 on randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on the mental rotation ability in healthy persons. A total of 17 studies (including 485 subjects) matched our inclusion criteria. Within their scope, overall, 46 sham-controlled experiments were performed. Methodology and results of each experiment are presented in a meta-analysis. The data show a large variety of methods and effects. The influence of (1) stimulation-technique (tDCS, tACS, and rTMS), (2) stimulation protocol (anodal, cathodal, bilateral tDCS, tACS, high-frequency rTMS, low-frequency rTMS, paired pulse rTMS, and theta burst stimulation), (3) stimulation timing (preconditioning and simultaneous), (4) stimulation location (left, right hemisphere, frontal, and parietal area), and (5) stimulus type (bodily and non-bodily) is discussed. The data indicate a beneficial effect of anodal tDCS and of tACS and no effect of cathodal tDCS on the mental rotation ability. Bilateral tDCS protocols both improved and worsened the parameters assessed. The small effect sizes obtained in mostly rTMS experiments require cautious interpretation.

Human Genomics and the Biocultural Origin of Music

Music is an exclusive feature of humankind. It can be considered as a form of universal communication, only partly comparable to the vocalizations of songbirds. Many trends of research in this field try to address music origins, as well as the genetic bases of musicality. On one hand, several hypotheses have been made on the evolution of music and its role, but there is still debate, and comparative studies suggest a gradual evolution of some abilities underlying musicality in primates. On the other hand, genome-wide studies highlight several genes associated with musical aptitude, confirming a genetic basis for different musical skills which humans show. Moreover, some genes associated with musicality are involved also in singing and song learning in songbirds, suggesting a likely evolutionary convergence between humans and songbirds. This comprehensive review aims at presenting the concept of music as a sociocultural manifestation within the current debate about its biocultural origin and evolutionary function, in the context of the most recent discoveries related to the cross-species genetics of musical production and perception.

Influence of Background Musical Emotions on Attention in Congenital Amusia

Congenital amusia in its most common form is a disorder characterized by a musical pitch processing deficit. Although pitch is involved in conveying emotion in music, the implications for pitch deficits on musical emotion judgements is still under debate. Relatedly, both limited and spared musical emotion recognition was reported in amusia in conditions where emotion cues were not determined by musical mode or dissonance. Additionally, assumed links between musical abilities and visuo-spatial attention processes need further investigation in congenital amusics. Hence, we here test to what extent musical emotions can influence attentional performance. Fifteen congenital amusic adults and fifteen healthy controls matched for age and education were assessed in three attentional conditions: executive control (distractor inhibition), alerting, and orienting (spatial shift) while music expressing either joy, tenderness, sadness, or tension was presented. Visual target detection was in the normal range for both accuracy and response times in the amusic relative to the control participants. Moreover, in both groups, music exposure produced facilitating effects on selective attention that appeared to be driven by the arousal dimension of musical emotional content, with faster correct target detection during joyful compared to sad music. These findings corroborate the idea that pitch processing deficits related to congenital amusia do not impede other cognitive domains, particularly visual attention. Furthermore, our study uncovers an intact influence of music and its emotional content on the attentional abilities of amusic individuals. The results highlight the domain-selectivity of the pitch disorder in congenital amusia, which largely spares the development of visual attention and affective systems.

Musical Training and Brain Volume in Older Adults

Musical practice, including musical training and musical performance, has been found to benefit cognitive function in older adults. Less is known about the role of musical experiences on brain structure in older adults. The present study examined the role of different types of musical behaviors on brain structure in older adults. We administered the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index, a questionnaire that includes questions about a variety of musical behaviors, including performance on an instrument, musical practice, allocation of time to music, musical listening expertise, and emotional responses to music. We demonstrated that musical training, defined as the extent of musical training, musical practice, and musicianship, was positively and significantly associated with the volume of the inferior frontal cortex and parahippocampus. In addition, musical training was positively associated with volume of the posterior cingulate cortex, insula, and medial orbitofrontal cortex. Together, the present study suggests that musical behaviors relate to a circuit of brain regions involved in executive function, memory, language, and emotion. As gray matter often declines with age, our study has promising implications for the positive role of musical practice on aging brain health.

Music is similar to language in terms of working memory interference

Some researchers theorize that musicians’ greater language ability is mediated by greater working memory because music and language share the same processing resources. Prior work using working memory sentence processing dual-task paradigms have shown that holding verbal information (e.g., words) in working memory interferes with sentence processing. In contrast, visuospatial stimuli are processed in a different working memory store and should not interfere with sentence processing. We tested whether music showed similar interference to sentence processing as opposed to noninterference like visuospatial stimuli. We also compared musicians to nonmusicians to investigate whether musical training improves verbal working memory. Findings revealed that musical stimuli produced similar working memory interference as linguistic stimuli, but visuospatial stimuli did not—suggesting that music and language rely on similar working memory resources (i.e., verbal skills) that are distinct from visuospatial skills. Musicians performed more accurately on the working memory tasks, particularly for the verbal and musical working memory stimuli, supporting an association between musicianship and greater verbal working memory capacity. Future research is necessary to evaluate the role of music training as a cognitive intervention or educational strategy to enhance reading fluency.

Neural Dynamics of Improved Bimodal Attention and Working Memory in Musically Trained Children

Attention and working memory (WM) are core components of executive functions, and they can be enhanced by training. One activity that has shown to improve executive functions is musical training, but the brain networks underlying these improvements are not well known. We aimed to identify, using functional MRI (fMRI), these networks in children who regularly learn and play a musical instrument. Girls and boys aged 10–13 with and without musical training completed an attention and WM task while their brain activity was measured with fMRI. Participants were presented with a pair of bimodal stimuli (auditory and visual) and were asked to pay attention only to the auditory, only to the visual, or to both at the same time. The stimuli were afterward tested with a memory task in order to confirm attention allocation. Both groups had higher accuracy on items that they were instructed to attend, but musicians had an overall better performance on both memory tasks across attention conditions. In line with this, musicians showed higher activation than controls in cognitive control regions such as the fronto-parietal control network during all encoding phases. In addition, facilitated encoding of auditory stimuli in musicians was positively correlated with years of training and higher activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus, structures that support the phonological loop. Taken together, our results elucidate the neural dynamics that underlie improved bimodal attention and WM of musically trained children and contribute new knowledge to this model of brain plasticity.

Train the brain with music (TBM): brain plasticity and cognitive benefits induced by musical training in elderly people in Germany and Switzerland, a study protocol for an RCT comparing musical instrumental practice to sensitization to music

BACKGROUND

Recent data suggest that musical practice prevents age-related cognitive decline. But experimental evidence remains sparse and no concise information on the neurophysiological bases exists, although cognitive decline represents a major impediment to healthy aging. A challenge in the field of aging is developing training regimens that stimulate neuroplasticity and delay or reverse symptoms of cognitive and cerebral decline. To be successful, these regimens should be easily integrated in daily life and intrinsically motivating. This study combines for the first-time protocolled music practice in elderly with cutting-edge neuroimaging and behavioral approaches, comparing two types of musical education.

METHODS

We conduct a two-site Hannover-Geneva randomized intervention study in altogether 155 retired healthy elderly (64-78) years, (63 in Geneva, 92 in Hannover), offering either piano instruction (experimental group) or musical listening awareness (control group). Over 12 months all participants receive weekly training for 1 hour, and exercise at home for ~ 30 min daily. Both groups study different music styles. Participants are tested at 4 time points (0, 6, and 12 months & post-training (18 months)) on cognitive and perceptual-motor aptitudes as well as via wide-ranging functional and structural neuroimaging and blood sampling.

DISCUSSION

We aim to demonstrate positive transfer effects for faculties traditionally described to decline with age, particularly in the piano group: executive functions, working memory, processing speed, abstract thinking and fine motor skills. Benefits in both groups may show for verbal memory, hearing in noise and subjective well-being. In association with these behavioral benefits we anticipate functional and structural brain plasticity in temporal (medial and lateral), prefrontal and parietal areas and the basal ganglia. We intend exhibiting for the first time that musical activities can provoke important societal impacts by diminishing cognitive and perceptual-motor decline supported by functional and structural brain plasticity.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The Ethikkomission of the Leibniz Universität Hannover approved the protocol on 14.08.17 (no. 3604-2017), the neuroimaging part and blood sampling was approved by the Hannover Medical School on 07.03.18. The full protocol was approved by the Commission cantonale d'éthique de la recherche de Genève (no. 2016-02224) on 27.02.18 and registered at clinicaltrials.gov on 17.09.18 ( NCT03674931 , no. 81185).

Audiovisual Modulation in Music Perception for Musicians and Non-musicians

In audiovisual music perception, visual information from a musical instrument being played is available prior to the onset of the corresponding musical sound and consequently allows a perceiver to form a prediction about the upcoming audio music. This prediction in audiovisual music perception, compared to auditory music perception, leads to lower N1 and P2 amplitudes and latencies. Although previous research suggests that audiovisual experience, such as previous musical experience may enhance this prediction, a remaining question is to what extent musical experience modifies N1 and P2 amplitudes and latencies. Furthermore, corresponding event-related phase modulations quantified as inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) have not previously been reported for audiovisual music perception. In the current study, audio video recordings of a keyboard key being played were presented to musicians and non-musicians in audio only (AO), video only (VO), and audiovisual (AV) conditions. With predictive movements from playing the keyboard isolated from AV music perception (AV-VO), the current findings demonstrated that, compared to the AO condition, both groups had a similar decrease in N1 amplitude and latency, and P2 amplitude, along with correspondingly lower ITPC values in the delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands. However, while musicians showed lower ITPC values in the beta-band in AV-VO compared to the AO, non-musicians did not show this pattern. Findings indicate that AV perception may be broadly correlated with auditory perception, and differences between musicians and non-musicians further indicate musical experience to be a specific factor influencing AV perception. Predicting an upcoming sound in AV music perception may involve visual predictory processes, as well as beta-band oscillations, which may be influenced by years of musical training. This study highlights possible interconnectivity in AV perception as well as potential modulation with experience.

Reading music and words: The anatomical connectivity of musicians' visual cortex

Musical score reading and word reading have much in common, from their historical origins to their cognitive foundations and neural correlates. In the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOT), the specialization of the so-called Visual Word Form Area for word reading has been linked to its privileged structural connectivity to distant language regions. Here we investigated how anatomical connectivity relates to the segregation of regions specialized for musical notation or words in the VOT. In a cohort of professional musicians and non-musicians, we used probabilistic tractography combined with task-related functional MRI to identify the connections of individually defined word- and music-selective left VOT regions. Despite their close proximity, these regions differed significantly in their structural connectivity, irrespective of musical expertise. The music-selective region was significantly more connected to posterior lateral temporal regions than the word-selective region, which, conversely, was significantly more connected to anterior ventral temporal cortex. Furthermore, musical expertise had a double impact on the connectivity of the music region. First, music tracts were significantly larger in musicians than in non-musicians, associated with marginally higher connectivity to perisylvian music-related areas. Second, the spatial similarity between music and word tracts was significantly increased in musicians, consistently with the increased overlap of language and music functional activations in musicians, as compared to non-musicians. These results support the view that, for music as for words, very specific anatomical connections influence the specialization of distinct VOT areas, and that reciprocally those connections are selectively enhanced by the expertise for word or music reading.

Attentional networks functioning and vigilance in expert musicians and non-musicians

Previous literature has shown cognitive improvements related to musical training. Attention is one cognitive aspect in which musicians exhibit improvements compared to non-musicians. However, previous studies show inconsistent results regarding certain attentional processes, suggesting that benefits associated with musical training appear only in some processes. The present study aimed to investigate the attentional and vigilance abilities in expert musicians with a fine-grained measure: the ANTI-Vea (ANT for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components; Luna et al. in J Neurosci Methods 306:77-87, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.05.011 , 2018). This task allows measuring the functioning of the three Posner and Petersen's networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) along with two different components of vigilance (executive and arousal vigilance). Using propensity-score matching, 49 adult musicians (18-35 years old) were matched in an extensive set of confounding variables with a control group of 49 non-musicians. Musicians showed advantages in processing speed and in the two components of vigilance, with some specific aspects of musicianship such as years of practice or years of lessons correlating with these measures. Although these results should be taken with caution, given its correlational nature, one possible explanation is that musical training can specifically enhance some aspects of attention. Nevertheless, our correlational design does not allow us to rule out other possibilities such as the presence of cognitive differences prior to the onset of training. Moreover, the advantages were observed in an extra-musical context, which suggests that musical training could transfer its benefits to cognitive processes loosely related to musical skills. The absence of effects in executive control, frequently reported in previous literature, is discussed based on our extensive control of confounds.

Testing the influence of musical expertise on novel word learning across the lifespan using a cross-sectional approach in children, young adults and older adults

Word learning is a multifaceted perceptual and cognitive task that is omnipresent in everyday life. Currently, it is unclear whether this ability is influenced by age, musical expertise or both variables. Accordingly, we used EEG and compared behavioral and electrophysiological indices of word learning between older adults with and without musical expertise (older adults' perspective) as well as between musically trained and untrained children, young adults, and older adults (lifespan perspective). Results of the older adults' perspective showed that the ability to learn new words is preserved in elderly, however, without a beneficial influence of musical expertise. Otherwise, results of the lifespan perspective revealed lower error rates and faster reaction times in young adults compared to children and older adults. Furthermore, musically trained children and young adults outperformed participants without musical expertise, and this advantage was accompanied by EEG manifestations reflecting faster learning and neural facilitation in accessing lexical-semantic representations.

How is musical activity associated with cognitive ability in later life?

Research has suggested that individuals who play a musical instrument throughout adulthood have better preserved executive function. However, mixed results have been found for associations between musical activity and visuo-spatial abilities, and less is known about associations with fluid intelligence. We explored differences between musicians (N = 30) and non-musicians (N = 30) aged 60-93 years old across a range of neuropsychological measures of cognitive function. Musicians performed significantly better than non-musicians on all domains, which remained after adjusting for age, gender, educational history, languages spoken and physical activity. As a cross-sectional comparison, the results should not be overstated; however, they are consistent with findings suggesting learning a musical instrument throughout the life course may be associated with cognitive benefits. Identifying potential lifestyle factors that have cognitive benefits in later life, such as musical experience, is an important step in developing intervention strategies for cognitive aging.

Sustained Effect of Music Training on the Enhancement of Executive Function in Preschool Children

Musical training is an enrichment activity involving multiple senses, including auditory, visual, somatosensorial, attention, memory, and executive function (EF), all of which are related to cognition. This study examined whether musical training enhances EF in preschool children who had not undergone previous systematic music learning. This study also explored the after-effects 12 weeks after cessation of musical training. Participants were 61 preschool children from a university-affiliated kindergarten in North China. The experimental group underwent 12 weeks of integrated musical training (i.e., music theory, singing, dancing, and role-playing), while the control group performed typical daily classroom activities. The three components (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility) of executive functions were evaluated using the Day/Night Stroop, Dimensional Change Card Sort, Dot Matrix Test, and Backward Digit Span Task. In Experiment 1, EFs were tested twice-before (T1) and after (T2) the music training. The results showed that children's EFs could be promoted by musical training. In addition, EFs were tested again 12 weeks later after the end of the intervention (T3) in Experiment 2. We discovered that integrated musical training demonstrated a sustained promotion effect.

On the Association Between Musical Training, Intelligence and Executive Functions in Adulthood

Converging evidence has demonstrated that musical training is associated with improved perceptual and cognitive skills, including executive functions and general intelligence, particularly in childhood. 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. 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). 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. 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. Hence, our study offers further support for the association between cognitive abilities and musical training, even in adulthood.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Musicians show higher general intelligence (FSIQ), verbal intelligence (VIQ), working memory (WMI) and attention skills than non-musicians. Amateurs score in between.- 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.

Gender Differences in Large-Scale and Small-Scale Spatial Ability: A Systematic Review Based on Behavioral and Neuroimaging Research

Background: As we human beings are living in a multidimensional space all the time. Therefore, spatial ability is vital for the survival and development of individuals. However, males and females show gender differences in this ability. So, are these gender differences influenced by the scale type of spatial ability? It's not well specified. Therefore, to tackle this issue, we conducted the current research from the behavioral and neural level. Methods: Study 1 used the general meta-analysis method to explore whether individuals display the same gender differences in large- and small-scale spatial ability. Study 2 used the method of Activation Likelihood Estimation to identify the commonalities and distinctions of the brain activity between males and females on large- and small-scale spatial ability. Results: Study 1 showed that in behavior performance, males outperformed females in both large-scale and small-scale spatial ability, but the effect size of the gender difference in large-scale spatial ability is significantly greater than that in small-scale spatial ability. In addition, Study 2 showed that in terms of neural activity, males and females exhibited both similarities and differences no matter in large-scale or small-scale spatial ability. Especially, the contrast analysis between females and males demonstrated a stronger activation in the brain regions of bilateral lentiform nucleus and bilateral parahippocampal gyrus in large-scale spatial ability, and correspondence in right sub-gyral, right precuneus, and left middle frontal gyrus in small-scale spatial ability. Conclusions: The results indicated that the reason why females performed not so well in large-scale spatial ability was that they were more susceptible to emotions and their parahippocampal gyrus worked less efficiently than males; females performed not so well in small-scale spatial ability because they mostly adopted the egocentric strategy and their sub-gyral also worked less efficiently than males. The two different reasons have made for gender differences in favor of males in terms of spatial ability and such gender differences have different manifestations in large-scale and small-scale spatial ability. Possible implications of the results for understanding the issue of gender differences in spatial ability are discussed.

Shared and Distinct Neural Bases of Large- and Small-Scale Spatial Ability: A Coordinate-Based Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Background: Spatial ability is vital for human survival and development. However, the relationship between large-scale and small-scale spatial ability remains poorly understood. To address this issue from a novel perspective, we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies to determine the shared and distinct neural bases of these two forms of spatial ability. Methods: We searched Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar for studies regarding "spatial ability" published within the last 20 years (January 1988 through June 2018). A final total of 103 studies (Table 1) involving 2,085 participants (male = 1,116) and 2,586 foci were incorporated into the meta-analysis. Results: Large-scale spatial ability was associated with activation in the limbic lobe, posterior lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, right anterior lobe, frontal lobe, and right sub-lobar area. Small-scale spatial ability was associated with activation in the parietal lobe, occipital lobe, frontal lobe, right posterior lobe, and left sub-lobar area. Furthermore, conjunction analysis revealed overlapping regions in the sub-gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, right superior parietal lobule, right middle occipital gyrus, right superior occipital gyrus, left inferior occipital gyrus, and precuneus. The contrast analysis demonstrated that the parahippocampal gyrus, left lingual gyrus, culmen, right middle temporal gyrus, left declive, left superior occipital gyrus, and right lentiform nucleus were more strongly activated during large-scale spatial tasks. In contrast, the precuneus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right precentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left supramarginal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, right inferior occipital gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus were more strongly activated during small-scale spatial tasks. Our results further indicated that there is no absolute difference in the cognitive strategies associated with the two forms of spatial ability (egocentric/allocentric). Conclusion: The results of the present study verify and expand upon the theoretical model of spatial ability proposed by Hegarty et al. Our analysis revealed a shared neural basis between large- and small-scale spatial abilities, as well as specific yet independent neural bases underlying each. Based on these findings, we proposed a more comprehensive version of the behavioral model.

Musical practice as an enhancer of cognitive function in healthy aging - A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aging is accompanied by cognitive decline, although recent research indicates that the rate of decline depends on multiple lifestyle factors. One of such factors is musical practice, an activity that involves several sensory and motor systems and a wide range of high-level cognitive processes. This paper describes the first systematic review and meta-analysis, to our knowledge, of the impact of musical practice on healthy neurocognitive aging. The inclusion criteria for the review required that studies were empirical works in English or Spanish that they explored the effects of musical practice on older people; they included an assessment of cognitive functions and/or an assessment of brain status; and they included a sample of participants aged 59 years or older with no cognitive impairment or brain damage. This review led to the selection of 13 studies: 9 correlational studies involving older musicians and non-musicians and 4 experimental studies involving short-term musical training programs. The results of the meta-analysis showed cognitive and cerebral benefits of musical practice, both in domain-specific functions (auditory perception) and in other rather domain-general functions. Moreover, these benefits seem to protect cognitive domains that usually decline with aging and boost other domains that do not decline with aging. The origin of these benefits may reside, simultaneously, in the specific training of many of these cognitive functions during musical practice (specific training mechanism), in the improvement of compensatory cognitive processes (specific compensatory mechanism), and in the preservation of general functions with a global influence on others, such as perceptual capacity, processing speed, inhibition and attention (general compensatory mechanism). Therefore, musical practice seems to be a promising tool to reduce the impact of cognitive problems associated to aging.

Individual differences in processing resources modulate bimanual interference in pointing

Coordinating both hands during bimanual reaching is a complex task that can generate interference during action preparation as often indicated by prolonged reaction times for movements that require moving the two hands at different amplitudes. Individual processing constraints are thought to contribute to this interference effect. Most importantly, however, the amount of interference seems to depend considerably on overall task demands suggesting that interference increases as the available processing resources decrease. Here, we further investigated this idea by comparing performance in a simple direct cueing and a more difficult symbolic cueing task between three groups of participants that supposedly vary in their processing resources, i.e., musicians, young adults and older adults. We found that the size of interference effects during symbolic cueing varied in the tested groups: musicians showed the smallest and older adults the largest interference effects. More importantly, a regression model, using processing speed and processing capacity as predictor variables, revealed a clear link between the available processing resources and the size of the interference effect during symbolic cueing. In the easier direct cueing task, no reliable interference was observed on a group level. We propose that the susceptibility to bimanual interference is modulated by the task-specific processing requirements in relation with the available processing resources of an individual.

Spatial selective attention biases are shaped by long-term musical experience and short-term exposure to tones

Selective attention is a dynamic process that rapidly shifts processing resources to information that is most relevant to our goals. Although individuals often show spatial biases in attention, these biases can be modified by both long-term factors, such as musical training, or by momentary changes in the auditory context. The present study used a visual search task to examine the influence of these factors on spatial attention biases while increasing demands on selective attention. Experiment 1 examined the effects of musical experience on baseline spatial selective attention biases during search. Individuals with little musical experience showed a typical leftward response bias that became stronger as the number of distractors increased. However, those with more musical experience showed similar responses to targets on the left and right sides, indicating an attenuation of the typical leftward spatial attention bias. Experiment 2 examined whether the addition of low- and high-frequency tones dynamically influenced participants' spatial attention biases during visual search. Participants showed increased orienting to and scanning of left-side distractor locations in response to low-frequency tones regardless of musical experience. The present results demonstrate that spatial attention biases are dynamic and can be shaped by both long-term experiences and momentary contextual effects.

Music reading expertise modulates hemispheric lateralization in English word processing but not in Chinese character processing

Music notation and English word reading both involve mapping horizontally arranged visual components to components in sound, in contrast to reading in logographic languages such as Chinese. Accordingly, music-reading expertise may influence English word processing more than Chinese character processing. Here we showed that musicians named English words significantly faster than non-musicians when words were presented in the left visual field/right hemisphere (RH) or the center position, suggesting an advantage of RH processing due to music reading experience. This effect was not observed in Chinese character naming. A follow-up ERP study showed that in a sequential matching task, musicians had reduced RH N170 responses to English non-words under the processing of musical segments as compared with non-musicians, suggesting a shared visual processing mechanism in the RH between music notation and English non-word reading. This shared mechanism may be related to the letter-by-letter, serial visual processing that characterizes RH English word recognition (e.g., Lavidor & Ellis, 2001), which may consequently facilitate English word processing in the RH in musicians. Thus, music reading experience may have differential influences on the processing of different languages, depending on their similarities in the cognitive processes involved.

Relationships between music training, speech processing, and word learning: a network perspective

Numerous studies have documented the behavioral advantages conferred on professional musicians and children undergoing music training in processing speech sounds varying in the spectral and temporal dimensions. These beneficial effects have previously often been associated with local functional and structural changes in the auditory cortex (AC). However, this perspective is oversimplified, in that it does not take into account the intrinsic organization of the human brain, namely, neural networks and oscillatory dynamics. Therefore, we propose a new framework for extending these previous findings to a network perspective by integrating multimodal imaging, electrophysiology, and neural oscillations. In particular, we provide concrete examples of how functional and structural connectivity can be used to model simple neural circuits exerting a modulatory influence on AC activity. In addition, we describe how such a network approach can be used for better comprehending the beneficial effects of music training on more complex speech functions, such as word learning.

Auditory and cognitive performance in elderly musicians and nonmusicians

Musicians represent a model for examining brain and behavioral plasticity in terms of cognitive and auditory profile, but few studies have investigated whether elderly musicians have better auditory and cognitive abilities than nonmusicians. The aim of the present study was to examine whether being a professional musician attenuates the normal age-related changes in hearing and cognition. Elderly musicians still active in their profession were compared with nonmusicians on auditory performance (absolute threshold, frequency intensity, duration and spectral shape discrimination, gap and sinusoidal amplitude-modulation detection), and on simple (short-term memory) and more complex and higher-order (working memory [WM] and visuospatial abilities) cognitive tasks. The sample consisted of adults at least 65 years of age. The results showed that older musicians had similar absolute thresholds but better supra-threshold discrimination abilities than nonmusicians in four of the six auditory tasks administered. They also had a better WM performance, and stronger visuospatial abilities than nonmusicians. No differences were found between the two groups' short-term memory. Frequency discrimination and gap detection for the auditory measures, and WM complex span tasks and one of the visuospatial tasks for the cognitive ones proved to be very good classifiers of the musicians. These findings suggest that life-long music training may be associated with enhanced auditory and cognitive performance, including complex cognitive skills, in advanced age. However, whether this music training represents a protective factor or not needs further investigation.

Increased functional connectivity in the ventral and dorsal streams during retrieval of novel words in professional musicians

Current models of speech and language processing postulate the involvement of two parallel processing streams (the dual stream model): a ventral stream involved in mapping sensory and phonological representations onto lexical and conceptual representations and a dorsal stream contributing to sound-to-motor mapping, articulation, and to how verbal information is encoded and manipulated in memory. Based on previous evidence showing that music training has an influence on language processing, cognitive functions, and word learning, we examined EEG-based intracranial functional connectivity in the ventral and dorsal streams while musicians and nonmusicians learned the meaning of novel words through picture-word associations. In accordance with the dual stream model, word learning was generally associated with increased beta functional connectivity in the ventral stream compared to the dorsal stream. In addition, in the linguistically most demanding "semantic task," musicians outperformed nonmusicians, and this behavioral advantage was accompanied by increased left-hemispheric theta connectivity in both streams. Moreover, theta coherence in the left dorsal pathway was positively correlated with the number of years of music training. These results provide evidence for a complex interplay within a network of brain regions involved in semantic processing and verbal memory functions, and suggest that intensive music training can modify its functional architecture leading to advantages in novel word learning.

Musicians have better memory than nonmusicians: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Several studies have found that musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks, but this is not always the case, and the strength of this apparent advantage is unknown. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis with the aim of clarifying whether musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks.

METHODS

Education Source; PEP (WEB)-Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing; Psychology and Behavioral Science (EBSCO); PsycINFO (Ovid); PubMed; ScienceDirect-AllBooks Content (Elsevier API); SCOPUS (Elsevier API); SocINDEX with Full Text (EBSCO) and Google Scholar were searched for eligible studies. The selected studies involved two groups of participants: young adult musicians and nonmusicians. All the studies included memory tasks (loading long-term, short-term or working memory) that contained tonal, verbal or visuospatial stimuli. Three meta-analyses were run separately for long-term memory, short-term memory and working memory.

RESULTS

We collected 29 studies, including 53 memory tasks. The results showed that musicians performed better than nonmusicians in terms of long-term memory, g = .29, 95% CI (.08-.51), short-term memory, g = .57, 95% CI (.41-.73), and working memory, g = .56, 95% CI (.33-.80). To further explore the data, we included a moderator (the type of stimulus presented, i.e., tonal, verbal or visuospatial), which was found to influence the effect size for short-term and working memory, but not for long-term memory. In terms of short-term and working memory, the musicians' advantage was large with tonal stimuli, moderate with verbal stimuli, and small or null with visuospatial stimuli.

CONCLUSIONS

The three meta-analyses revealed a small effect size for long-term memory, and a medium effect size for short-term and working memory, suggesting that musicians perform better than nonmusicians in memory tasks. Moreover, the effect of the moderator suggested that, the type of stimuli influences this advantage.

Keeping brains young with making music

Music-making is a widespread leisure and professional activity that has garnered interest over the years due to its effect on brain and cognitive development and its potential as a rehabilitative and restorative therapy of brain dysfunctions. We investigated whether music-making has a potential age-protecting effect on the brain. For this, we studied anatomical magnetic resonance images obtained from three matched groups of subjects who differed in their lifetime dose of music-making activities (i.e., professional musicians, amateur musicians, and non-musicians). For each subject, we calculated a so-called BrainAGE score which corresponds to the discrepancy (in years) between chronological age and the "age of the brain", with negative values reflecting an age-decelerating brain and positive values an age-accelerating brain, respectively. The index of "brain age" was estimated using a machine-learning algorithm that was trained in a large independent sample to identify anatomical correlates of brain-aging. Compared to non-musicians, musicians overall had lower BrainAGE scores, with amateur musicians having the lowest scores suggesting that music-making has an age-decelerating effect on the brain. Unlike the amateur musicians, the professional musicians showed a positive correlation between their BrainAGE scores and years of music-making, possibly indicating that engaging more intensely in just one otherwise enriching activity might not be as beneficial than if the activity is one of several that an amateur musician engages in. Intense music-making activities at a professional level could also lead to stress-related interferences and a less enriched environment than that of amateur musicians, possibly somewhat diminishing the otherwise positive effect of music-making.

Reorganization of the Connectivity between Elementary Functions - A Model Relating Conscious States to Neural Connections

In the present paper it is argued that the "neural correlate of consciousness" (NCC) does not appear to be a separate "module" - but an aspect of information processing within the neural substrate of various cognitive processes. Consequently, NCC can only be addressed adequately within frameworks that model the general relationship between neural processes and mental states - and take into account the dynamic connectivity of the brain. We presently offer the REFGEN (general reorganization of elementary functions) model as such a framework. This model builds upon and expands the REF (reorganization of elementary functions) and REFCON (of elementary functions and consciousness) models. All three models integrate the relationship between the neural and mental layers of description via the construction of an intermediate level dealing with computational states. The importance of experience based organization of neural and cognitive processes is stressed. The models assume that the mechanisms of consciousness are in principle the same as the basic mechanisms of all aspects of cognition - when information is processed to a sufficiently "high level" it becomes available to conscious experience. The NCC is within the REFGEN model seen as aspects of the dynamic and experience driven reorganizations of the synaptic connectivity between the neurocognitive "building blocks" of the model - the elementary functions.