Musical training enhances the interaction between pitch and time dimensions in auditory working memory

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.1701

Abstract

Abstract:

Musical training enhances sensitivity to both temporal and non-temporal structures, but how these structures jointly affect working memory remains unclear. This study investigated how pitch and rhythmic structures are processed in auditory working memory and the role of musical training in this process. The experiment manipulated pitch and rhythmic structures in melodic sequences of varying lengths. Musicians and nonmusicians were asked to make same-different judgments based on either the pitch or rhythm dimension while suppressing interference from the other. Results showed that in the pitch retention task, nonmusicians processed pitch and rhythm structures independently, whereas musicians processed them interactively, with the interaction effect positively correlated with musical sophistication scores. In the rhythm retention task, both groups processed the structures independently, suggesting that the influence of musical training on structural integration is modulated by task type. Furthermore, the interaction effect was more pronounced in shorter sequences of the pitch retention task, suggesting that such integration is further constrained by task type and cognitive load. These findings support the dynamic attending theory and suggest that musical training enhances individuals’ flexibility and adaptability in processing multidimensional information.

Key words: musical training, auditory working memory, temporal regularity, musical structure, dynamic attending theory

ZHOU Linshu, ZHANG Yuqing, CAI Dan-Chao. (2025). Musical training enhances the interaction between pitch and time dimensions in auditory working memory. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(10), 1701-1714.

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1 Demographic and Background Characteristics of Musicians and Nonmusicians

	Musicians (n = 36)	Nonmusicians (n = 36)	t	p	Cohen's d	95% CI
Age	23.58 (1.96)	23.25 (1.36)	0.84	0.405	0.20	[?0.46, 1.13]
Sex	24 females, 12 males	24 females, 12 males	—	—	—	—
Handedness	All right-handed	All right-handed	—	—	—	—
Years of Education	17.00 (1.27)	16.92 (0.91)	0.32	0.749	0.08	[?0.43, 0.60]
Raven's SPM	64.31 (5.33)	64.58 (3.82)	?0.25	0.800	?0.06	[?2.46, 1.90]
Gold-MSI	183.72 (13.66)	143.22 (12.11)	13.31	< 0.001	3.14	[34.43, 46.57]

Figure 1. Examples of melodic stimuli illustrating combinations of pitch and rhythmic structures in five-note and seven-note sequences.

Figure 2. Detection sensitivity (d′) in Experiment 1 as a function of group, pitch structure, and rhythmic structure.
Note. The horizontal line within each box represents the median; box length reflects the interquartile range. The violin plots illustrate the distribution of individual data points, with gray dots representing each participant. A significant interaction was observed only in the musician group; no interaction was found in the nonmusician group. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001

Figure 3. Correlation between the pitch-rhythm interaction effect and musical sophistication scores in Experiment 1.
Note. Gray dots represent individual participants; the straight line indicates the linear regression trend, and the two curves the 95% confidence interval.

Figure 4. Detection sensitivity (d′) in Experiment 1 as a function of sequence length, pitch structure, and rhythmic structure.
Note. The horizontal line within each box represents the median; box length indicates the interquartile range. The violin plots illustrate the distribution of participant data, with gray dots representing individual participants. A significant interaction was observed only in the five-note condition; no interaction was found in the seven-note condition. ** p < 0.01

Figure 5. (A) Detection sensitivity and (B) reaction time for tonal and atonal conditions in musicians and nonmusicians in Experiment 2.
Note. The horizontal line within each box represents the median; box length indicates the interquartile range. The violin plots illustrate the distribution of participant data, with gray dots representing individual participants. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001

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