Abstract
Attention and working memory (WM) are core components of executive functions, and they can be enhanced by training. One activity that has shown to improve executive functions is musical training, but the brain networks underlying these improvements are not well known. We aimed to identify, using functional MRI (fMRI), these networks in children who regularly learn and play a musical instrument. Girls and boys aged 10–13 with and without musical training completed an attention and WM task while their brain activity was measured with fMRI. Participants were presented with a pair of bimodal stimuli (auditory and visual) and were asked to pay attention only to the auditory, only to the visual, or to both at the same time. The stimuli were afterward tested with a memory task in order to confirm attention allocation. Both groups had higher accuracy on items that they were instructed to attend, but musicians had an overall better performance on both memory tasks across attention conditions. In line with this, musicians showed higher activation than controls in cognitive control regions such as the fronto-parietal control network during all encoding phases. In addition, facilitated encoding of auditory stimuli in musicians was positively correlated with years of training and higher activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus, structures that support the phonological loop. Taken together, our results elucidate the neural dynamics that underlie improved bimodal attention and WM of musically trained children and contribute new knowledge to this model of brain plasticity.
Highlights
Executive functions, which include goal-directed attention and working-memory capacity, allow us to regulate, control, and manage our thoughts, emotions, and decision making (Aboitiz and Cosmelli, 2009)
Our behavioral results showed an interaction effect among attention condition and memory task [F(3.1, 102.3) = 11.3, p[GG] = 0.0007, η2 = 0.09], which indicated that in both groups, attention condition significantly modulated the correct responses for memory tasks, with attended stimuli being better remembered than unattended ones
Our results suggest that the overall better performance of the musically trained children in our bimodal attention task seems to be driven by higher activation of attention control related brain areas from the fronto-parietal control network during encoding phase in musically trained children as compared with controls in all active attention conditions (Figure 4)
Summary
Executive functions, which include goal-directed attention and working-memory capacity, allow us to regulate, control, and manage our thoughts, emotions, and decision making (Aboitiz and Cosmelli, 2009). Greater cognitive flexibility is associated with favorable outcomes throughout lifespan, such as higher resilience, improved reading abilities in childhood, higher creativity, and a better quality of life (Dajani and Uddin, 2015). These skills, used every day to interact with our world (Hinton et al, 2012), develop during childhood and adolescence and can be improved by training (Diamond, 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
