Abstract
A sensitive period associated with musical training has been proposed, suggesting the influence of musical training on the brain and behavior is strongest during the early years of childhood. Experiments from our laboratory have directly tested the sensitive period hypothesis for musical training by comparing musicians who began their training prior to age seven with those who began their training after age seven, while matching the two groups in terms of musical experience (Watanabe et al., 2007; Bailey and Penhune, 2010, 2012). Using this matching paradigm, the early-trained groups have demonstrated enhanced sensorimotor synchronization skills and associated differences in brain structure (Bailey et al., 2013; Steele et al., 2013). The current study takes a different approach to investigating the sensitive period hypothesis for musical training by examining a single large group of unmatched musicians (N = 77) and exploring the relationship between age of onset of musical training as a continuous variable and performance on the Rhythm Synchronization Task (RST), a previously used auditory-motor RST. Interestingly, age of onset was correlated with task performance for those who began training earlier, however, no such relationship was observed among those who began training in their later childhood years. In addition, years of formal training showed a similar pattern. However, individual working memory scores were predictive of task performance, regardless of age of onset of musical training. Overall, these results support the sensitive period hypothesis for musical training and suggest a non-linear relationship between age of onset of musical training and auditory-motor rhythm synchronization abilities, such that a relationship exists early in childhood but then plateaus later on in development, similar to maturational growth trajectories of brain regions implicated in playing music.
Highlights
A sensitive period is a window in development when specific training or experience produces long-term changes in behavior and the brain, above and beyond those associated with that same experience at a different time during development (Knudsen, 2004; de Villers-Sidani and Merzenich, 2011)
Recent studies from our laboratory have shown that musicians who begin training before age seven perform better on auditory and visual Rhythm Synchronization Tasks (RSTs) even when groups are matched for years of experience, formal training and hours of current practice (Watanabe et al, 2007; Bailey and Penhune, 2010, 2012)
Individual years of formal musical training related to RST performance, even though the musician groups were matched on this variable (Bailey and Penhune, 2010, 2012). These results indicate that RST performance is predicted by age at which musical training begins, the number of years of formal training and individual working memory abilities in musicians
Summary
A sensitive period is a window in development when specific training or experience produces long-term changes in behavior and the brain, above and beyond those associated with that same experience at a different time during development (Knudsen, 2004; de Villers-Sidani and Merzenich, 2011). We have shown that early trained musicians have greater gray matter in the premotor cortex and greater white matter integrity in the corpus callosum (Bailey et al, 2013; Steele et al, 2013) These studies compared early- and late-trained musicians using age seven as the dividing point between the groups. The purpose of the current study was to examine auditory-motor synchronization performance in a large sample of musicians who began training across a range of ages Using this data, we tested to see whether age of start of musical training and task performance followed a linear or a www.frontiersin.org
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