The Influence of Music on Prefrontal Cortex during Episodic Encoding and Retrieval of Verbal Information: A Multichannel fNIRS Study.

Laura Ferreri,Patrick Bard,Aurélia Bugaiska,Emmanuel Bigand

doi:10.1155/2015/707625

Abstract

Music can be thought of as a complex stimulus able to enrich the encoding of an event thus boosting its subsequent retrieval. However, several findings suggest that music can also interfere with memory performance. A better understanding of the behavioral and neural processes involved can substantially improve knowledge and shed new light on the most efficient music-based interventions. Based on fNIRS studies on music, episodic encoding, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), this work aims to extend previous findings by monitoring the entire lateral PFC during both encoding and retrieval of verbal material. Nineteen participants were asked to encode lists of words presented with either background music or silence and subsequently tested during a free recall task. Meanwhile, their PFC was monitored using a 48-channel fNIRS system. Behavioral results showed greater chunking of words under the music condition, suggesting the employment of associative strategies for items encoded with music. fNIRS results showed that music provided a less demanding way of modulating both episodic encoding and retrieval, with a general prefrontal decreased activity under the music versus silence condition. This suggests that music-related memory processes rely on specific neural mechanisms and that music can positively influence both episodic encoding and retrieval of verbal information.

Highlights

Episodic memory can be defined as a neurocognitive system, uniquely different from other memory systems, which enables human beings to remember past experiences [1]
In a series of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (f NIRS) studies, we previously showed that background music during the episodic encoding of verbal material can improve item and source memory performance and modulate prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity [10, 11]
Paired t-tests on the free recall memory performance and intrusion scores revealed no differences in the total number of correctly retrieved words and falsealarm rates between the music and silence conditions (t(18) = 1.17, P > .05)

Summary

Introduction

Episodic memory can be defined as a neurocognitive system, uniquely different from other memory systems, which enables human beings to remember past experiences [1]. A rich context given by stimuli with a high (positive or negative) emotional valence can enhance the encoding of contextual information associated with an item [4]. In this scenario, music could offer a perfect example of an enriched context. Several studies have revealed a specific episodic memory for music, showing how it depends largely on emotion [7] and revealing the existence of specific related neural processes [8]. The question of whether music as an encoding context can enhance episodic memory performance, especially concerning verbal material, remains debatable and controversial. The key to solving this question seems to rely on a better understanding of the processes

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