Electrophysiological and Behavioral Working Memory Differences Between Musicians and Non-Musicians

The current study examines the P300 brainwave and working memory differences between musicians and non-musicians. Differences in aspects of recorded electrical brain activity have been used to quantify differences in updating processes of working memory possibly related to differences in amount of music experience. The current study is designed to partially replicate and enhance a method previously implemented in research describing how music experience may be associated with differences in visual processing as well auditory working memory and executive function. Behavioral data were collected using six standardized subtest measures of the TOMAL – II, followed by ERP recordings during a visual oddball task. The results from the current study confirmed hypotheses that musicians score higher on working memory task especially related to executive functioning and record differences in P300 mean amplitude and peak latencies. Overall, these findings suggest that greater amounts of music experience lead to stimulus processing differences related to working memory.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Experimental Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Richardson, Benjamin P.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ralf Greenwald
• Susan Lonborg
• Jeffrey Snedeker

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• EEG
• Music Cognition
• ERP
• Cognition and Perception
• Cognitive Psychology
• Laboratory and Basic Science Research
• Neuroscience and Neurobiology
• Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology
• Psychology
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/266

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1266