Improved effectiveness of performance monitoring in amateur instrumental musicians

Abstract

Here we report a cross-sectional study investigating the influence of instrumental music practice on the ability to monitor for and respond to processing conflicts and performance errors. Behavioural and electrophysiological indicators of response monitoring in amateur musicians with various skill levels were collected using simple conflict tasks. The results show that instrumental musicians are better able than non-musicians to detect conflicts and errors as indicated by systematic increases in the amplitude of the error-related negativity and the N200 with increasing levels of instrumental practice. Also, high levels of musical training were associated with more efficient and less reactive responses after experience of conflicts and errors as indicated by reduced post-error interference and post-conflict processing adjustments. Together, the present findings suggest that playing a musical instrument might improve the ability to monitor our behavior and adjust our responses effectively when needed. As these processes are amongst the first to be affected by cognitive aging, our evidence could promote musical activity as a realistic intervention to slow or even prevent age-related decline in frontal cortex mediated executive functioning.

The effects of musical training on movement pre-programming and re-programming abilities: An event-related potential investigation

“…Based on the hypothesis that musical practice leads to more efficient responses (Jäncke et al, 2000;Jentzsch et al, 2014), musicians are expected to generally respond faster to targets compared to non-musicians. Moreover, if musicians do engage in more efficient motor preparation, they should respond faster in trials with finger and hand precues compared to non-informative and ambiguous conditions.…”

“…Again, to our knowledge no previous study has addressed the influence of musical practice on the ability to re-program an incorrectly pre-specified motor programme. A recent study by Jentzsch et al (2014) suggested that musicians even at an amateur level might have a better ability to detect conflicts and errors compared to nonmusicians. Thus, from this evidence one could predict musicians to be more efficient at re-programming their movements.…”

“…the hand predominantly used to play their instrument) in the right M1. These enlarged M1 representations may enable musicians to execute their movements more efficiently (Jäncke et al, 2000;Jentzsch et al, 2014).…”

“…For example, professional instrumentalists have been shown to anticipate their forthcoming movements when performing musical compositions (Engel et al, 1997) and more musically experienced individuals exhibit more anticipatory behaviour (Palmer & Pfordresher, 2003;Palmer & Dalla Bella 2004). Indeed, RT latencies generally seem to decrease as musical experience increases (e.g., Jentzsch et al, 2014). Moreover, young adults with musical training respond faster on uni-manual and bi-manual RT tasks compared to musically-naïve individuals (Hughes & Franz, 2007).…”

Tuning the mind: Exploring the connections between musical ability and executive functions

“…Playing music with other performers not only requires shifting attention, but also exercising inhibitory control to monitor for conflict and to make corresponding adjustments to one's own performance (Jentzsch, Mkrtchian, & Kansal, 2014;Palmer, 2013). Processing complex polyrhythms (e.g., tapping a main meter with one hand and a counter meter with another) also requires inhibitory control (Vuust, Roepstorff, Wallentin, Mouridsen, & Østergaard, 2006;Vuust, Wallentin, Mouridsen, Østergaard, & Roepstorff, 2011).…”