Study On The Influence Of Musical Experience On Executive Function

Researches showed that music training can influence individual cognitive competence and plasticity of brain function and structures.Some psychologists believe that executive functions(EFs)may produce a mediation effect,and clinic research also discovered that music training has a treatment effect on some mental diseases involved by executive dysfunction.But there is a lack of direct evidence to prove that music training can influence EFs.EFs is an advanced cognitive activity in individual cognitive system.Besides,as the commander-in-chief of other individual cognitive functions,it will allocate and adjust individuals’limited attention resources,so as to make individual cognition more targeted and maintain individual behaviors to complete the expected goal.In this study,Diamond’s(2013)theory was used to classify EFs into inhibitory control,working memory(i.e.target maintenance ability),and cognitive flexibility.We further classified Inhibitory control into response inhibition and interference control.Our purpose is to discuss the influence of music training on components of EFs.A behavioral study is made on the influence of long-term music training on components of individual EFs via Go/no-go task,Stroop task,AX-CPT task,and task-shift paradigm,Which are the classic paradigms of various components of EFs.According to the results,subjects with musical experience performed better in go trails of Go/no-go task,indicating that long-term music training can promote individual ability to maintain target tasks.But music training has no significant influence on proponent response inhibition.In Stroop task,subjects with musical experience were obviously better than the non-music group in the reaction time of repeated trails and shift trails,demonstrating that long-term music training can promote the response sensitivity of individuals.But the music group presents a higher Stroop Interference ensues,which indicates that music training will weakens individual ability of disturbance control.In AX-CPT task,subjects with musical experience performed better in BX sequence,which manifests that musical experience can promote the development of target maintenance ability.In AY sequence,subjects with musical experience reacted faster,which means that they might perform better in the aspect of cognitive flexibility.In task-shift paradigm,no significant difference is presented between non-music group and non-music group.Therefore,musical experience has no obvious influence on the task-shift ability of individuals,and might has more significant influences on other components of executive function.In conclusion,Our results indicated that musical experience has different influences on various components of executive function,It will promote the development of target maintenance ability,and it also weakens disturbance control ability.however,In response inhibition and taskshifting,musical experience has no significant influence on these two components.