ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
主办:中国心理学会
   中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理学报 ›› 2026, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (8): 1567-1585.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1567 cstr: 32110.14.2026.1567

• 研究报告 • 上一篇    下一篇

对歌经验对壮族中老年人执行功能的影响:来自行为和fNIRS的证据

张姝玥1,2, 易景源1,2,3, 苏玥1,2, 李宇涵1,2, 张积家1,2   

  1. 1广西师范大学教育学部心理学系、中华民族共同体研究院、共生教育研究中心;
    2广西认知科学与心理健康重点实验室, 桂林 541004;
    3广西经贸职业技术学院, 南宁 530021
  • 收稿日期:2025-06-05 发布日期:2026-06-16 出版日期:2026-08-25
  • 通讯作者: 张积家, E-mail:Zhangjj1955@163.com
  • 作者简介:易景源为本文共同第一作者

The effect of antiphonal singing experience on executive function in middle-aged and older Zhuang adults: Evidence from behavioral and fNIRS data

ZHANG Shuyue1,2, YI Jingyuan1,2,3, SU Yue1,2, LI Yuhan1,2, ZHANG Jijia1,2   

  1. 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Institute of the Chinese National Community, Center for Symbiotic Education Research, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, China;
    2Guangxi Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Guilin, Guilin 541004, China;
    3Guangxi Economic and Trade Vocational Institute, Nanning 530021, China
  • Received:2025-06-05 Online:2026-06-16 Published:2026-08-25

摘要: 执行功能包括抑制控制、工作记忆刷新和认知灵活性, 对心理发展和心理健康非常重要。音乐、戏剧的即兴创作训练与执行功能水平存在显著关联, 对中老年人的执行功能有积极影响, 但即兴歌词创作与执行功能的关系仍有待探索。中国传统艺术形式——“对歌”过程契合执行功能的三个核心子成分。通过3个实验, 比较了有、无对歌经验的壮族中老年人在执行功能任务中的表现, 并结合fNIRS技术探讨对歌经验与执行功能之间的关系及神经基础。结果发现, 有对歌经验的壮族中老年人在执行功能任务中的表现均优于无对歌经验者。在抑制控制任务中, 歌手组以更高效方式调动神经资源; 在工作记忆刷新任务中, 歌手组显示了更佳的能力; 在认知灵活性任务中, 歌手组在转换条件的神经激活显著高于非歌手组。整体来看, 长期对歌经验与更优秀的执行功能有关。研究结果不仅为即兴创作与执行功能的关系提供了新的证据, 也为本土文化活动与认知健康关系的研究提供了新的视角。

关键词: 执行功能, 即兴创作, 对歌经验, 近红外光谱脑功能成像技术

Abstract: Executive function is a set of higher-order cognitive abilities that support goal-directed behavior, typically comprising three core components: inhibitory control, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility. While executive function tends to decline in middle and older adulthood, improvisational activities may help slow this deterioration. Antiphonal singing, a traditional form of spontaneous lyric creation widely practiced in ethnic minority regions of China, emphasizes real-time generation and flexible response, potentially engaging multiple components of executive function. This study aimed to investigate whether experience in antiphonal singing enhances executive function in middle-aged and older adults and further explore the neural basis underlying these potential advantages. We hypothesized that individuals with such experience would perform better in inhibitory control, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility.
Two groups of middle-aged and older adults were recruited: those with experience in antiphonal singing and those without. The average age across participants was approximately 58 years. In Study 1, 34 singers and 31 non-singers were included in the analysis; in Studies 2 and 3, both groups consisted of 32 participants. Three experiments were conducted: a Simon arrow task assessed inhibitory control, an n-back task assessed working memory updating, and a more-odd shifting task assessed cognitive flexibility. During task performance, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in key frontal, parietal, and temporal brain regions to assess behavioral performance and neural activation patterns.
Behavioral results across all three experiments showed that participants with antiphonal singing experience had superior executive function. In Study 1, fNIRS data revealed significantly lower activation in the singer group under conflict conditions in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, posterior parietal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, and somatosensory association cortex. In Study 2, higher activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, somatosensory association cortex, and posterior parietal cortex was observed in the singer group during the 2-back task (but not the 1-back task). In Study 3, during task-switching conditions, the singer group exhibited significantly higher activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontopolar area, premotor and primary motor cortices, posterior parietal cortex, and somatosensory association cortex.
This study is the first to systematically examine the influence of antiphonal singing experience on different components of executive function and their neural underpinnings. Results indicate that such experience significantly enhances executive function in middle-aged and older adults. These findings support the potential of improvisational language training as an intervention for cognitive aging, offering empirical evidence for culturally grounded cognitive enhancement programs. Moreover, the fNIRS data suggest that the observed cognitive improvements may reflect enhanced neural processing efficiency. These findings provide valuable insights for advancing cognitive training research and broaden the potential applications of improvisational practices in cognitive interventions, particularly culturally embedded forms of improvisation such as antiphonal singing.

Key words: executive function, antiphonal singing experience, improvisation, functional near-infrared spectroscopy