Despite the ubiquity of musical activities, little is known about the specificity of their association with executive functions. In this cross-sectional study, we examined this relationship as a function of age. Our main hypotheses were that executive functions would decline in older age, that this relationship would be reduced in singers and instrumentalists compared to nonmusician active controls, and that the amount of musical experience would be more strongly associated with executive functions compared to the specific type of activity. A sample of 122 cognitively healthy adults aged 20–88 years was recruited, consisting of 39 amateur singers, 43 amateur instrumentalists, and 40 nonmusician controls. Tests of auditory processing speed, auditory selective attention, auditory and visual inhibitory control, and auditory working memory were administered. The results confirm a negative relationship between age and executive functions. While musicians’ advantages were found in selective attention, inhibitory control, and auditory working memory, these advantages were specific rather than global. Furthermore, most of these advantages were independent of age and experience. Finally, there were only limited differences between instrumentalists and singers, suggesting that the relationship between music-making activities and executive functions may be, at least in part, general as opposed to activity-specific.

中文翻译：

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衰老中的注意力、工作记忆和抑制控制：比较业余歌手、乐器演奏家和主动控制


尽管音乐活动无处不在，但人们对它们与执行功能的关系的特异性知之甚少。在这项横断面研究中，我们研究了这种关系与年龄的关系。我们的主要假设是执行功能会随着年龄的增长而下降，与非音乐家主动控制相比，歌手和器乐演奏者的这种关系会减少，并且与特定类型的活动相比，音乐经验的数量与执行功能的关系会更紧密。招募了 122 名年龄在 20-88 岁之间认知健康的成年人的样本，其中包括 39 名业余歌手、43 名业余乐器演奏家和 40 名非音乐家对照。对听觉处理速度、听觉选择性注意力、听觉和视觉抑制控制以及听觉工作记忆进行了测试。结果证实了年龄和执行功能之间的负相关关系。虽然音乐家的优势在于选择性注意、抑制控制和听觉工作记忆，但这些优势是具体的，而不是全局的。此外，这些优势中的大多数与年龄和经验无关。最后，器乐演奏家和歌手之间的差异有限，这表明音乐创作活动和执行功能之间的关系可能至少在一定程度上是一般性的，而不是特定于活动的。