The benefit of assessing implicit sequence learning in pianists with an eye-tracked serial reaction time task

Playing piano professionally has been shown to benefit implicit motor sequence learning. The aim of the current study was to determine whether this advantage reflects generally enhanced implicit sequence learning unrelated to pianists' higher motor and/or visual-motor coordination abilities. We examined implicit sequence learning using the ocular serial reaction time (O-SRT) task, a manual-free eye-tracked version of the standard SRT, in 29 pianists and 31 controls. Reaction times (RT) and correct anticipations (CA) of several phases describing implicit sequence learning were analyzed. Furthermore, explicit sequence knowledge was compared between the groups, and relationships between implicit sequence learning with explicit sequence knowledge or demographic measures were evaluated. Pianists demonstrated superiority in all critical phases of implicit sequence learning (RT and CA). Moreover, pianists acquired higher explicit sequence knowledge, and only in pianists was explicit sequence knowledge related to implicit sequence learning. Our results demonstrate that pianists' superiority in implicit sequence learning is due to a higher general implicit sequence learning ability. Hence, we can exclude that higher motor and/or visual-motor coordination abilities are related to pianists' higher implicit sequence learning. Furthermore, the significant relationship of implicit sequence learning and explicit sequence knowledge suggests that pianists either used explicit strategies to support implicit sequence learning, had better explicit access to sequence knowledge, or both.