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Musicians don't just learn movement sequences faster, they predict what's coming next sooner, according to new research that also found newly formed motor memories can be disrupted by seeing different visual sequences shortly after learning.
The study, by Edith Cowan University (ECU), Curtin University and Deakin University, investigated how people learn and remember movement patterns. Researchers also explored whether newly learned sequences could be disrupted by seeing or hearing different sequences shortly afterwards.
First author ECU Psychology Lecturer Dr Li-Ann Leow and last author Associate Professor Welber Marinovic (Curtin University) said previous research had observed a 'musician advantage' in learning movement sequences, but now we better understand why.
"Musicians seem to be better at predicting what happens next in sequences," they said.
Visual distractions can disrupt new memories
The study involved 151 participants, around half of whom had formal musical training. Participants learned a 10-step sequence using a combination of visual cues on a screen and matching sounds. After a short break, they were exposed to a different sequence before being tested again on the original one.
Performance suffered for both musicians and non-musicians when the new sequence involved different visual information. However, hearing a different sequence of sounds alone had little effect.
"This shows that motor memory can be disrupted just by observing a different visual sequence: this matters for how we schedule practice in skill learning and rehabilitation," Dr Leow said.
Implications for rehabilitation, training and education
Dr Leow said the findings have potential implications for rehabilitation, sports training and music education, where practice sessions are often followed by other demanding activities.
"If new motor memories are only vulnerable to interference in the modality the task actually relies on, then protecting fresh learning is about managing the relevant sensory channel, not silence and stillness generally," Dr Leow said.
"The findings suggest that expertise buys you better prediction, not a more indestructible memory, those are separable things."
Researchers are now using brain measures, including electroencephalography (EEG) to understand how musical training influences predictive processing in the brain.
The paper 'Musical training increases anticipatory responding and predictive control in sequence learning' was published in the journal Psychological Research.
