PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
The aim of this research was to enhance understanding of the relationship between brief music listening and working memory (WM) functions. The study extends a previous large-scale experiment in which the effects of brief exposure to music on verbal WM were explored. In the present second phase of the experiment, these effects were assessed for the visuospatial subcomponent of WM. For that aim, visuospatial WM was measured using the Corsi blocks task-backwards and Visual Patterns Test in a large sample of 311 young and older adults after being exposed to musical excerpts coming from different music composers (Mozart, Vivaldi, Glass). To account for possible effects of arousal, a silence condition was used. Individual preference for music excerpts and emotional reactions to each condition were also subjectively rated using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to account for the role of emotional reactions in shaping subsequent cognitive performance. Results showed that music affected the visuospatial sketchpad of WM. In line with the previously described Mozart effect, only Mozart\'s music had a significant positive impact on visuospatial WM in the two age groups, regardless of preferences, and on overall age-related WM decline in older adults. The Mozart effect was more prominent for the VPT than the Corsi task and was also expressed for the prevailing positive effect. These observations are in contrast to the selective influence of Vivaldi\'s music on verbal WM that was detected in our first study. Together, the results demonstrate a differential music influence on the phonological loop and on the visuospatial sketchpad. They thus contribute to the debate of whether music has the potential to affect distinct processes within working memory in an excerpt- or composer-specific manner. Also, they suggest that emotional activation and central executive attention are essentially involved in modulating the influence of music on subsequent cognition. These findings can assist in the selection of music excerpts used in cognitive rehabilitation programs that focus on visuospatial skills.
摘要：
这项研究的目的是增进对简短音乐聆听与工作记忆（WM）功能之间关系的理解。该研究扩展了先前的大规模实验，其中探讨了短暂接触音乐对言语WM的影响。在实验的第二阶段，对WM的视觉空间子分量评估了这些影响。为了这个目标,视觉空间WM是使用Corsi块向后任务和视觉模式测试对311名年轻人和老年人的大样本进行测量的，这些样本暴露于来自不同音乐作曲家的音乐摘录（莫扎特，维瓦尔第,玻璃）。为了解释唤醒的可能影响，使用了沉默条件。还使用正面和负面情感时间表（PANAS）对个人对音乐摘录和对每种情况的情绪反应进行了主观评估，以说明情绪反应在塑造随后的认知表现中的作用。结果表明，音乐会影响WM的视觉空间画板。与之前描述的莫扎特效应一致,只有莫扎特的音乐对两个年龄组的视觉空间WM有显著的积极影响，无论偏好如何，以及老年人与年龄相关的总体WM下降。对于VPT，莫扎特效应比Corsi任务更为突出，并且对于普遍的积极效应也得到了表达。这些观察结果与我们在第一项研究中发现的维瓦尔第音乐对言语WM的选择性影响相反。一起,结果表明，音乐对语音循环和视觉空间画板的影响不同。因此，它们有助于辩论音乐是否有可能以摘录或作曲家特定的方式影响工作记忆中的不同过程。此外，他们认为，情绪激活和中央行政注意力基本上参与调节音乐对随后认知的影响。这些发现可以帮助选择专注于视觉空间技能的认知康复计划中使用的音乐摘录。
