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Tuning the mind: Exploring the connections between musical ability and executive functions
L Robert Slevc1, Nicholas S Davey1, Martin Buschkuehl2
1Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Cognition
|April 25, 2016
Summary
Musical ability enhances specific cognitive functions, particularly updating, across both auditory and visual tasks. This suggests a process-specific, modality-general link between musical skills and executive functioning (EF).
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology of Music
- Human Cognition
Background:
- Research indicates a link between musical experience and executive functioning (EF).
- The specificity of this relationship (e.g., to certain EF components or sensory modalities) remains unclear.
- Understanding this connection can illuminate cognitive advantages conferred by musical training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between musical ability and specific components of executive functioning (EF).
- To determine if this relationship is modality-general (auditory vs. visual) or specific to certain EF tasks.
- To assess if musical ability predicts individual differences in inhibition, updating, and switching.
Main Methods:
- Assessed musical ability and experience in a large participant group.
- Evaluated performance on inhibition, updating, and switching tasks in both auditory and visual modalities.
- Controlled for potential confounding variables like age, handedness, bilingualism, and socioeconomic status.
Main Results:
- Musical ability significantly predicted enhanced performance on both auditory and visual updating tasks.
- No significant relationship was found between musical ability and inhibitory control or task switching.
- These findings held even after controlling for confounding factors.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive benefits of musical ability are specific to certain executive functions, notably updating.
- These benefits are not confined to auditory processing, demonstrating modality-generality.
- The results support a process-specific, yet modality-general, association between musical ability and cognitive functions.
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