Cognitive Benefits from playing music

Background and Aim: The influence of playing music in human cognitive performance has attracted much attention of researchers. Recent studies suggest that music may enhance cognitive function. It has been shown playing music associated with performance advantages across various cognitive tasks. Methods Eighteen musicians (age: M=۲۶) and ۱۸ non-musicians (age: M=۲۵) from Arak-Iran participated in this study. To examine whether playing music influences cognitive function: working memory, creativity: divergent thinking, and processing speed more than in individuals who are not playing, participants were instructed to perform a computer version of Wechsler Working Memory Task, a task of selective reaction time, and Guilford Alternative Uses Task (in ۳ minutes) to measure creativity. The order of the tasks was balanced across participants. Results: The aim of this study is to investigate if there is any benefit of playing music for memory, processing speed, and creativity. Hypothesis There is a significant difference between musicians and non-musicians in cognitive functions (working memory, creativity: divergent thinking, and processing speed). Conclusion Results of one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) indicated a significant main effect of group in selective reaction time, F(۱,۳۴)= ۸/۳۸, p< ۰.۰۱, with faster reaction time for musicians (M= ۴۴۱ms, SD=۵۲) than non-musicians (M= ۵۳۸ms, SD=۹۸). And also significant effect of group in creativity: fluency F(۱,۳۴)=۴.۳, p< ۰.۰۵, with higher score for musicians (M=۷.۱, SD= ۳.۸) than non-musicians (M=۴.۹, SD=۲.۱), and also in creativity: flexibility, F(۱, ۳۴)= ۴.۴, p< ۰.۰۵, with higher score for musicians (M=۴.۷, SD= ۲.۷) than non-musicians (M=۳.۲, SD=۱.۴). No significant effect found in working memory in both groups. Conclusion Within the musician group, an advantage was found on performance in cognitive functions including creativity and processing speed relative to the non-musician group. The results of working memory show no significant difference between two groups the reason could be that the task was not difficult enough (the performance of both groups was high in the task).

کلیدواژه ها:

cognitive function ، creativity ، working memory ، musician ، reaction time