Working memory as a mechanism underlying transfer and maintenance of skills acquired through music training

音乐，由于它对几种重要的认知功能（例如工作记忆，听觉分析，视觉-听觉-运动整合等）提出了特殊的要求，是作为训练范例来检查相同域（即，“近转移”）和跨不同域（即，“远转移”）。事实上，越来越多的研究报告了音乐训练与各种认知指标（包括言语智商、工作记忆和语言技能）的改善之间的相关性，为远距离迁移提供了证据。然而，介导或支持这些关联的机制大多是未知的（Moreno，2009）。Moreno等人（2011）认为，执行功能（EF）的改善，如工作记忆（WM），可能在远迁移过程中发挥作用。一些研究支持音乐专业知识和WM之间的联系（例如，Bidelman等人，2013; Chan等人，1998; Ho等人，2003; Pallesen等人，2010; Parbery-Clark等人，2011;参见Moreno & Bidelman，2013中的综述）。然而，音乐训练对工作记忆和其他认知功能的因果关系仍然不清楚。我的研究计划的总体目标是研究音乐专业知识和音乐训练对大脑可塑性的作用，以及生命周期中远距离转移的机制。这个广泛的目标分为三个目标：1）确定音乐专业知识对工作记忆行为和大脑功能的影响; 2）通过纵向音乐训练干预来确定音乐训练对工作记忆的因果影响; 3）通过中介分析来调查工作记忆和其他EFs在迁移中的作用。这项新的研究计划将使人们更好地了解生活经历的影响（即，音乐训练）对认知和大脑适应性的影响。这项研究通过探索参与丰富的认知活动（如音乐训练）和对学习至关重要的潜在机制之间的关系，可能会对教育产生广泛的影响。

Music, by virtue of the extra-ordinary demands it places on several important cognitive functions (e.g. working memory, auditory analysis, visual-auditory-motor integration, etc.), is an excellent candidate as a training paradigm to examine transfer effects both within the same domain (i.e., "near transfer") and across different domains (i.e., "far transfer"). Indeed, a growing number of studies have reported correlations between music training and improvements on a variety of cognitive measures including verbal IQ, working memory, and language skills, providing evidence for far transfer. However, the mechanisms mediating or underlying these associations are mostly unknown (Moreno, 2009). Moreno et al. (2011) suggested that improvements in executive functions (EF), such as working memory (WM), might play a role in the processes of far transfer. Several studies have supported a link between music expertise and WM (e.g., Bidelman et al., 2013; Chan et al., 1998; Ho et al., 2003; Pallesen et al., 2010; Parbery-Clark et al., 2011; see review in Moreno & Bidelman, 2013). However, the causal effect of musical training on WM and other cognitive functions remains unclear. The overall goal of my research program is to examine the role of musical expertise and musical training on brain plasticity and the mechanisms underlying far transfer over the lifespan. This broad goal is divided into three aims: 1) to determine the influence of music expertise on WM with respect to behavioural and brain function; 2) to determine the causal effects of music training on WM by using a longitudinal musical training intervention; and 3) to investigate the role of WM and other EFs in transfer via mediation analysis. This novel program of research will provide a better understanding of the influence of life experiences (i.e., music training) on cognition and the brain's adaptability. This research may have widespread influence in education by exploring the relationship between engagement in enriched cognitive activities (such as musical training) and underlying mechanisms critical for learning.