Music Training, Working Memory, and Neural Oscillations: A Review

Abstract

This review focuses on reports that link music training to working memory and neural oscillations. Music training is increasingly associated with improvement in working memory, which is strongly related to both localized and distributed patterns of neural oscillations. Importantly, there is a small but growing number of reports of relationships between music training, working memory, and neural oscillations in adults. Taken together, these studies make important contributions to our understanding of the neural mechanisms that support effects of music training on behavioral measures of executive functions. In addition, they reveal gaps in our knowledge that hold promise for further investigation. The current review is divided into the main sections that follow: (1) discussion of behavioral measures of working memory, and effects of music training on working memory in adults; (2) relationships between music training and neural oscillations during temporal stages of working memory; (3) relationships between music training and working memory in children; (4) relationships between music training and working memory in older adults; and (5) effects of entrainment of neural oscillations on cognitive processing. We conclude that the study of neural oscillations is proving useful in elucidating the neural mechanisms of relationships between music training and the temporal stages of working memory. Moreover, a lifespan approach to these studies will likely reveal strategies to improve and maintain executive function during development and aging.

Working-Memory, Alpha-Theta Oscillations and Musical Training in Older Age: Research Perspectives for Speech-on-speech Perception

“…As noted, the PFC is thought to underpin alpha recruitment during sensory gating and functional inhibition ( Klimesch et al, 2007 ; Manza et al, 2014 ; Misselhorn et al, 2019 ). Beyond this, the relationship between musical training and WM-related alpha-theta activity is still somewhat unclear and to our knowledge, no research has explored musical training-related modulations of alpha recruitment during active inhibition (see Yurgil et al, 2020 ), especially later in life. However, reported phenomena from younger adults hint that musical training may preserve alpha-theta oscillatory activity.…”

“…Working memory is associated with alpha (8–12 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) oscillatory activity ( Yurgil et al, 2020 ) and appears to be underpinned by a fronto-parietal network that incorporates cortical and subcortical regions ( Eriksson et al, 2015 ). In general, alpha-activity underpinned by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with the gating of sensory information during WM updating ( Manza et al, 2014 ; Misselhorn et al, 2019 ), and the functional inhibition of activity in brain regions not involved with stimulus processing ( Klimesch et al, 2007 ).…”

The Power of Music: an exploration of the evidence [PREPRINT]

“…From a neuroscience perspective working memory also requires the integrity of the medial temporal lobe regions, whereas short term memory does not. In addition, there is strong evidence linking behavioural measures of working memory to both localized and distributed patterns of neural oscillations (Yurgil et al 2020). Working memory is typically studied using behavioural tasks that require the implementation of a combination of stored information, manipulation of that information and interference including the N-back (Ding et al, 2018), backward digit span (Clayton et al, 2016;George and Coch, 2011;Zuk et al, 2014), reading span (D'Souza et al, 2018;Franklin et al, 2008), and operation span tasks (D'Souza et al, 2018;Franklin et al, 2008).…”

Meningkatkan Aktivitas Memori Kerja Berbantuan Binaural Beats

“…Kemudian (Jirakittayakorn & Wongsawat, 2017) menemukan bahwa pemberian BB pada frekuensi 40Hz dapat berdampak pada peningkatan aktivitas memori kerja. Sementara itu, (Yurgil et al, 2020) menemukan bahwa memberikan rangsangan musik dapat meningkatkan kapasitas memori kerja. Studi terdahulu belum secara khusus menginvestigasi aktivitas memori kerja yang dikhususkan pada aktivitas membaca, khususnya membaca artikel ilmiah.…”