THE INFLUENCE OF MUSICAL PRACTICE ON NEURODYNAMIC AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN HUMANS
DOI: 10.17721/1728.2748.2024.97.16-21
Keywords:
musical experience, cognitive functions, simple reaction time, choice reaction time, attention, visual working memory.Abstract
Introduction. Structural and functional neuroplastic processes observed in the brains of musicians may influence their cognitive functioning, revealing differences compared to non-musicians. This study aims to investigate whether intensive musical practice of varying durations is associated with improvements in attention, visual working memory, and sensorimotor reaction speed in humans.
Methods. Participants (123 individuals aged 17 to 51) were assessed for simple and choice reaction times, selective attention (Eriksen flanker test), and visual working memory. Test results were compared between subgroups with varying durations of musical practice (n=68) and those without musical experience (n=55).
Results. It was found, that regular musical practice of at least one year enhances the speed of simple auditory sensorimotor reactions and the detection of incongruent visual stimuli in the Eriksen flanker task. No significant differences were noted in the speeds of simple and complex visual sensorimotor reactions, accuracy of selective attention, or visual working memory between participants with and without musical experience.
Conclusions. Musical practice appears to predominantly enhance the speed of information processing within auditory sensory system structures. The reduced reaction time for detecting incongruent visual stimuli among individuals with musical experience indicates a positive effect of musical practice on brain systems involved in figure-ground discrimination. The impact of musical experience on attention and visual working memory remains inconclusive, necessitating further investigation that accounts for varying levels of musical ability and the duration since cessation of musical practice.
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