Individual differences in musical training and executive functions: A latent variable approach

Abstract

Learning and performing music draw on a host of cognitive abilities, and previous research has postulated that musicians might have advantages in related cognitive processes. One such aspect of cognition that may be related to musical training is executive functions (EFs), a set of top-down processes that regulate behavior and cognition according to task demands. Previous studies investigating the link between musical training and EFs have yielded mixed results and are difficult to compare. In part, this is because most studies have looked at only one specific cognitive process, and even studies looking at the same process have used different experimental tasks. Furthermore, most correlational studies have used different "musician" and "non-musician" categorizations for their comparisons, so generalizing the findings is difficult. The present study provides a more comprehensive assessment of how individual differences in musical training relate to latent measures of three separable aspects of EFs. We administered a well-validated EF battery containing multiple tasks tapping the EF components of inhibition, shifting, and working memory updating (Friedman et al. in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137, 201-225, 2008), as well as a comprehensive, continuous measure of musical training and sophistication (Müllensiefen et al., in PLoS ONE, 9, e89642, 2014). Musical training correlated with some individual EF tasks involving inhibition and working memory updating, but not with individual tasks involving shifting. However, musical training only predicted the latent variable of working memory updating, but not the latent variables of inhibition or shifting after controlling for IQ, socioeconomic status, and handedness. Although these data are correlational, they nonetheless suggest that musical experience places particularly strong demands specifically on working memory updating processes.

New Perspectives on Music in Rehabilitation of Executive and Attention Functions

“…Some correlational and cross sectional studies have supported the beneficial effects of music training on EF/AP in older musicians (Hanna-Pladdy and Mackay, 2011; Hanna-pladdy and Gajewski, 2012; Liu et al, 2012; Amer et al, 2013; Moussard et al, 2016; Strong and Mast, 2019), younger musicians (Moradzadeh and Blumenthal, 2015; Okada and Slevc, 2018; Medina and Barraza, 2019), and musically trained children (Zuk et al, 2014). In addition, several studies demonstrated structural and functional changes associated with formal musical training in the prefrontal regions.…”

Long-Term Musical Training Alters Auditory Cortical Activity to the Frequency Change

“…(B) A significant relationship between P2 amplitudes to 4,000 Hz and the duration of musical training is revealed. (Geiser et al, 2009;Okada and Slevc, 2018). Rather, high sensitivity to sound in noise seems to be associated with daily music-related behavior, such as listening to music in everyday life (Kliuchko et al, 2015).…”

“…Neuroanatomically, the understanding of music requires systematic processing as a set of hierarchical neural representations in different areas of the brain. Previous studies have proposed that music perception requires the activation of multiple areas of the brain involved with not only sound discrimination but also cognitive/perceptual skills (Okada and Slevc, 2018). Among the long-latency responses, P2 is related to neural processes mediating cognitive/perceptual aspects of sound processing (Näätänen et al, 1993;Alain et al, 2007).…”

Music Training, Working Memory, and Neural Oscillations: A Review

“…Slevc et al (2016) reported that music training predicts individual differences in working memory, but that effect is not as strongly related to inhibitory control, and unrelated to cognitive flexibility. Using a similar approach to study the relationships between music training and executive functions, Okada and Slevc (2018) used a test battery consisting of tasks related to three subcomponents of executive functions: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. They reported a positive correlation between individual variation in music training and working memory updating, but no relationships between music training and inhibitory control or shifting.…”

“…In these contexts, inhibitory control refers to one's ability to regulate behavior, attention, and thoughts -especially in the face of conflicting information, or when doing so requires overriding a prepotent response. Cognitive flexibility refers to one's ability to successfully switch between task demands or mental sets (Slevc et al, 2016;Okada and Slevc, 2018). Relationships between music training and inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility have been reviewed in other sources and will not be taken up here (Moreno and Farzan, 2015;Okada and Slevc, 2016).…”