Effect of musical training on psychophysical abilities and working memory in children

Abstract

Introduction: Music involves fine modulations of intensity, frequency, and temporal aspects and musicians can distinguish these fine variations due to their extensive training. The long-term musical practice has been found to result in the improvement of various auditory and cognitive skills. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of musical training on psychophysical abilities and working memory in children. Methods: Total of 30 participants in the age range of 10 to 15 years were recruited for the study. They were equally divided into two groups. Group I had children trained in Carnatic music for more than three years and group II included 15 children with no formal musical training. Psychophysical abilities were assessed using all three frequency, intensity, and temporal parameters. Frequency discrimination and intensity discrimination was assessed through differential limen of frequency (DLF) and differential limen of intensity (DLI) at 2000 and 4000 Hz. Temporal parameters were assessed through a gap detection test (GDT), temporal modulation transfer function (TMTF), and duration discrimination test (DDT). Working memory was assessed using digit span and operation span test respectively. Results: Results showed that children with musical training had significantly better scores for DLI, DLF, GDT, and DDT. However, there was no significant difference in TMTF scores between the groups. Further, a significant better score for digit span task was obtained by children with musical training. But no significant difference was noted for operational span task between the groups. Conclusion: To conclude, the study shows the importance of musical training in fine-tuning the auditory system and its significance in ameliorating auditory psychoacoustic skills and auditory memory.