The Effect of Spontaneous and Analytical Listening on the Evoked Cortical Activity in the Left and Right Hemispheres of Musicians and Nonmusicians

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of spontaneous music listening and analytical music listening on electroencephalographic alpha cortical activity of the right and left temporal lobes of 50 musicians and 50 nonmusicians. The aural condition was the Allegro movement of Bach's “Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra.” The number of seconds the subjects spent producing electroencephalographic alpha cortical activity within each 3-minute aural condition constituted the dependent measure. Each subject in both the musician and the nonmusician group received two presentations of an aural condition, with instructions to listen spontaneously and analytically. During each presentation, the left and right temporal lobes were each monitored for 3 minutes. Analysis of the time subjects spent producing alpha showed significant difference in alpha rhythm cortical activity in interaction between musician/nonmusician and left and right temporal lobes. No significant differences were found between groups or conditions. A post-hoc Neuman-Keuls Multiple Range Comparison Procedure revealed alpha to be significantly higher in the right than in the left temporal lobes of nonmusicians; however, alpha was significantly higher in the left than in the right temporal lobes of musicians.