INTRODUCTION: The correlation between musical training and academic performance has been explored through several different venues of research in the fields of music, mathematics, and neuroanatomy. Previous research has shown evidence that a correlation between musical abilities and improved performance in academic subjects such as reading, math, and IQ. However, the precise mechanisms by which music influences academic performance as well as how the processing of them may vary, remain unclear. The ability to play music is related to the development and enhancement of executive functioning skills, which are crucial in completing mathematical tasks (Janurik 2019). Executive functions are a set of cognitive processes that are largely associated with the prefrontal cortex and include working memory, attention shifting, decision making, and cognitive flexibility. The aim of this study is to determine the cognitions w/ music which music enhances executive functions, how this translates to performance in various mathematical subjects, and if this connection can be seen by differential activation of areas within the prefrontal cortex.
METHODS: Eight male and female adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine in the Boston area were recruited in this IRB- approved study. Their experience in musical training and mathematical knowledge was assessed, as well as their highest education level. Four subjects were determined to be musicians and four were determined to be non-musicians from their score on a music competence assessment, as well as their reported experience with musical training. Testing was the same for all subjects and the music assessment tested ear training, reading music, and rhythm. Participants also completed a math assessment that tested abilities in geometry, algebra, and sudoku. While completing the assessments, a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) headband was worn that measured activity in the prefrontal cortex bilaterally. Activity will be determined by looking at the area under the curve of the difference between concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and inferior fronto-lateral cortex (IFLC) for each task.
RESULTS: Of the eight enrolled in the study, four participants were determined to be musicians and four determined to be non-musicians based on a self reported questionnaire as well as performance on a standardized musical and mathematical assessment. Musicians showed a significant difference in consumption of oxygen in the left VLPFC during the algebra task (p=0.043). Scores on both the musical and mathematical assessment predicted activation of the left hemisphere for the geometry task (p< 0.038), right DLPFC for the sudoku task (p< 0.020), and activation of the right DLPFC for the sudoku task (p< .038). Score on the music assessment predicted activation of the right DLPFC for the geometry task (p< 0.020). Correlations between all of the variables tested were also determined.
CONCLUSION: Participants with a higher score on the music assessment predicted activation of the left hemisphere with specialized use of the right DLPFC for geometry and sudoku problems when compared to non-musicians. Musicians showed significantly differential activation of the left VLPFC during the algebra task. A correlation was found between left hemispheric activation during the geometry task and activation of the right DLPFC for the rhythm task. These results indicate that musicians use different cognitive processes in solving various problems when compared to non-musicians. / 2025-03-08T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48375 |
| Date | 08 March 2024 |
| Creators | Schutte, Madeleine |
| Contributors | Wisco, Jonathan |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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