Neural Correlates of Processing Syntax in Music and ... - PubMan

Musical Training 33
without substantial amounts of training. Secondly, there is a lack of convincing positive
and a substantial amount of negative evidence for innateness of complex cognitive functions:
To date, there is no evidence of specific gene systems affecting high-level performance
of special skills in a predictive and selective manner. Moreover, genetically
influenced traits are expressed in interaction with a particular environment. Thirdly,
other measurable factors may contribute to variability in performance: opportunities,
preparatory experiences, encouragement, support, motivation, self-confidence, perseverance,
and concentration (Howe, 1975, 1980). Moreover, there are less measurable
factors as differences in quality of instruction, effectiveness of practice strategy, and
degree of enthusiasm. Finally, only weak correlations were found between general intelligence
and various specific abilities in many domains (see, e.g., Ceci, 1996; Ceci &
Liker, 1986) including music (Shuter-Dyson, 1999). Cognitive ability was shown to
merely influence the early performance within a domain whereas final performance is
poorly predicted (Ackerman, 1988; Hulin, Henry, & Noon, 1990).
To investigate, whether there are pre-existing neural, cognitive, or motor markers for
musical abilities, 5- to 7-year-olds beginning piano or string lessons were compared to
children of the same age (Norton et al., 2005). Neither neural, cognitive, motor or musical
differences nor any correlation between musical perceptual skills and any brain or
visual-spatial measures were found between the groups: Thus, it is highly likely that
exceptional abilities are more consistently explained as acquired skill than as innate
talent. Moreover, the exceptional performance of musicians is highly predictable by
their amount of accumulated deliberate practice and the beginning of musical training
(Ericsson et al., 1993).
Influences of musical training on general cognitive functions
Musical training involves long periods of focused attention, daily practice, reading musical
notation, memorization of extended musical passages, learning about a variety of
musical structures, and mastery of technical (e.g., fine-motor) skills. It is, thus, supposed
to have a positive impact on cognition, particularly during childhood years, when
brain development is highly plastic and sensitive to environmental influence (P. R.
Huttenlocher, 2002).
Winner and Cooper (2000) conducted a meta-analysis on studies investigating the relation
between arts education and academic achievement. Even though there seem to be
some transfer effect, the effect sizes are relatively small (and, in addition, consistently
smaller for experimental than for correlation studies). Correlations, as those found between
musical ability and other cognitive and academic abilities, have been observed
for many forms of arts training. However, there is no evidence yet that studying arts has