Coffey, E. B. J. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2024

Auditory working memory mediates the relationship between musicianship and auditory stream segregation

This study investigates the interactions between musicianship and two auditory cognitive mechanisms: auditory working memory (AWM) and stream segregation. The primary hypothesis is that AWM mediates the relationship between musical training and enhanced stream segregation capabilities. Two groups of listeners were tested, the first to establish the relationship between the two variables and the second to replicate the effect in an independent sample. Music history and behavioural data were collected from a total of 145 healthy young adults with normal binaural hearing. They performed a task that requires manipulation of tonal patterns in working memory, and the Music-in-Noise Task (MINT), which measures stream segregation abilities in a musical context. The MINT task expands measurements beyond traditional Speech-in-Noise (SIN) assessments by capturing auditory subskills (e.g., rhythm, visual, spatial, prediction) relevant to stream segregation. Our results showed that musical training is associated with enhanced AWM and MINT task performance, and that this effect is replicable across independent samples. Moreover, we found in both samples that the enhancement of stream segregation was largely mediated by AWM capacity. The results suggest that musical training and/or aptitude enhances music-in-noise perception by way of improved AWM capacity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Feasibility of cognitive neuroscience data collection during a speleological expedition

In human cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology studies, laboratory-based research tasks have been important to establish principles of brain function and its relationship to behaviour; however, they differ greatly from real-life experiences. Several elements of real-life situations that impact human performance, such as stressors, are difficult or impossible to replicate in the laboratory. Expeditions offer unique possibilities for studying human cognition in complex environments that can transfer to other situations with similar features. For example, as caves share several of the physical and psychological challenges of safety-critical environments such as spaceflight, underground expeditions have been developed as an analogue for astronaut training purposes, suggesting that they might also be suitable for studying aspects of behaviour and cognition that cannot be fully examined under laboratory conditions. While a large range of topics and tools have been proposed for use in such environments, few have been evaluated in the field. We tested the feasibility of collecting human physiological, cognitive, and subjective experience data concerning brain state, sleep, cognitive workload, and fatigue, during a speleological expedition in a remote region. We document our approaches and challenges experienced, and provide recommendations and suggestions to aid future work. The data support the idea that cave expeditions are relevant naturalistic paradigms that offer unique possibilities for cognitive neuroscience to complement laboratory work and help improve human performance and safety in operational environments.

neuroscience↗