Different neural activities support auditory working memory in musicians and bilinguals

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Auditory Neuroscience

Background:

• Executive functions and working memory (WM) are enhanced by musical training and bilingualism.
• The specific neural networks underlying these cognitive advantages remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms supporting auditory working memory (WM) in musicians and bilinguals.
• To compare WM performance and brain activity between musicians, bilinguals, and monolingual controls.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the n-back task were employed.
• Participants included monolingual musicians, nonmusician bilinguals, and monolingual controls.
• Working memory for spatial (sound location) and nonspatial (sound category) auditory information was assessed.

Main Results:

• Musicians outperformed bilinguals and controls on nonspatial auditory WM.
• Spatial and nonspatial WM engaged dorsal and ventral brain regions, respectively.
• Musicians exhibited reduced activity in prefrontal cortex areas, suggesting neural efficiency.
• Bilinguals showed increased activity in language-related regions, potentially for managing interference.

Conclusions:

• The auditory working memory advantages in musicians and bilinguals are supported by distinct neural networks.
• Musical training may lead to more efficient neural resource utilization in WM tasks.
• Bilingualism's neural correlates in WM may involve enhanced engagement of language processing networks.