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Abstract:
The goal of this study was to quantify learning a music
related task with frontal EEG activity and behavioral responses.
Methods: An equal number of male and female adult subjects served
as participants in a counterbalanced within subject manipulation of
two learning trials run in a music and a no-music condition. Fast
Fourier Transformations (FFTs) of the raw EEG were used to elicit
mean frequency of the EEG, alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and
global (1-60 Hz) activity and power. EEG power was measured from
left (F7) and right (F8) orbital frontal recording sites, while
subjects sat in front of an animated computer screen that gave
visual cues to a beat (steady .75 beats/sec) and a rhythm (variable
.25-1 beats/sec) learning trial that subjects tried to keep pace to
by responding with a button press. These learning trials were
either paired with music that matched both the beat and the rhythm,
respectively (Music Condition) or no music was presented (No Music
Condition). The results showed that frontal asymmetries in the
alpha and beta power bands were associated with enhanced
performance for learning rhythm when learning was paired with
music. The behavior data revealed that music enhanced learning for
rhythm but not for beat. These findings suggest that music aids in
the acquisition of rhythm but not beat.
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