THE INFLUENCES OF MUSIC TRAINING ON DECISION MAKING IN
THAI ADOLESCENCE
Anuch Sinarod1,*, Nuanchan Chutabhakdikul 2, Panadda Thanasetkorn1 , Vasunun
Chumchua1,#
1
Department of Human Development Institution National Institute for Child and
Family Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakornprathom, 73170, Thailand
2
Research center for neuroscience, Institute of Molecular Bioscience, Mahidol
University, Salaya, Nakornprathom, 73170, Thailand
*e-mail: dear16as@hotmail.com, #e-mail: vasunun_c@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract
The one of most important development in human life span is adolescence
.The adolescent is full development reward and emotion brain but part of prefrontal
cortex will be in latest for fully development at 25 years old. That refers to meaning
of an either appropriate decision making or risk behavior. The music training may
advantage to help to promote executive function in that superior the reward and
emotional brain. Therefore the objective of the study is to examine the influence of
music training on decision making in adolescent by comparing the decision-making
performance of the adolescent in the musician and non-musician groups. The result
showed significant differences in mean scores on decision-making between the
adolescent in the musician and non-musician groups.
Keywords: Music Training, Decision Making, Iowa Gambling Task, Adolescence
Introduction
Adolescent is a critical period of human development. The most evident in
adolescent brain development occur before mature is that synaptic pruning process,
this process is trim brain connection when not use is decomposed but always use is
still that call “use it or loss it principle”. Considering, adolescence who receives
exaggerate the negative information that might be increasing to choose risk choice of
behaviour. Subsequently to influence a disorder onset such as drug addict, anxiety,
and risky behaviour. The one of necessary development is prefrontal cortex and
subcortical limbic regions has show in figure 1 (1)
Figure 1. this figure shows traditional of Prefrontal cortex and limbic regions in adolescent which
involve the dicision making
Adolescent behavior is depend on development of prefrontal cortex and limbic
regions (such as amygdala and nucleus accumbens) that influence to emotional
reactivity and associate with risky choices. The limbic regions has shown early
mature than prefrontal cortex in adolescent.(1). The more fully limbic maturation is
influence decision making of adolescent than pre frontal cortex .This phenomenon
invole to the way of adolescence choose to do risk behavior such as drug abuse. Then
both emotion and cognition is an important for decision making. The Decision
making refers to ability in chooses action with properly situation. It has 2 pathways:
the extended dorsal pathway (E- dorsal), and the extended ventral pathway (Eventral). Decision making is composed of 2 types, first the Hot, Effective decision
making relate to reward and emotion brain. second, Cool, Cognitive decision making
relate to cognitive brain. In 2006 Stefan Koelsch et al. was study in young adult assess
by fMRI found reward and emotion brain such as amygdala increase working while
listen unfamiliar song but familiar song induces increase working in inferior frontal
gyrus (IFG,inferior Brodmann’s area (BA44, 45,and 46) anterior superior
insula,ventral striatum,Heschl’sgyrus , Rolandic operculum(2) But benefit of music in
decision making was not study. Therefore this studyaims to examine the effect of
music training to decision making in adolescent
Methodology
Participants
The sample of this research was divided into two groups; musician and non-musician
groups since the sample in the musician group studied in a particular musical Training School and continuous music training at least 4 years.
Inclusion and Exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria
 Sex: Boy and Girl.
 Currently studying in the 11th Grade at the different school programs as
mentioned above and age between 15 – 18 years old.
 Healthy.
 Participation agreement with the signed consent form for participating in the
research from the sample’s parents
Exclusion criteria
 Mental health: The present or report of psychiatric disorder.
 Cognitive function: The report of accident and head injury.
 Sensory deficits: The report of severe visual deficits.
 Sensory integration: The report of severe hand-motor deficits
Instruments
1. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) computer version – there are 4 deck of
cards, each label as Deck A, B, C and D. Every 20 cards is one block. The total
number of cards is 100 cards or 5 blocks. Participants select the cards from one of the
four decks in the IGT game. There are both reward and punishment in response to the
selected card from each deck. If the participants choose reward card, their money is
increased in the IGT game. On the contrary, if the participants choose punishment
card, their money is decreased in the IGT game.
2. The questionnaire was developed in order to serve two purposes. First, it is
utilized to recruit the sample based on the matching method and the inclusion and
exclusion criteria. The second purpose is to control confounding variables such as
gender, status and educational background of parents. The questionnaire was divided
into 4 parts
Data Collection and Procedure
1. The informed letter was sent to the faculty of Graduate Studies to get a Letter of
Recommendation; and permission for data collection was submitted to the director of
the musician and non-musician schools. The letter indicated objectives, expected
benefits and data collection process of this research.
2. The consent forms and questionnaires were sent to the parents of the students in the
musician and non-musician groups and were collect in August - September, 2012.
3. The IGT scores were be analyzed, using Independent Samples T-test.
Results
The total number of the sample in both groups was 76 adolescent; 38
adolescents in the musician group and 38 adolescents in the non-musician group. For
gender, 42.1 % of the sample in musician group was boys and 57.9 % of the sample
was girls. In the non-musician group, 44.7 % of the sample in this group was boys and
55.3% of the sample was girls. (See Fig 2.).
G ender
43%
57%
Fig2. this figure represents the different percentage between boy and girl
For age, average age of the sample in the musician group was 16.87 years old;
ranging from 15.83 years old to 19.08 years old, for the non-musician group, the
ranging age of the sample in the non-musician group was 15 – 18 years old
The majority of the sample group (81.6%) spent 1 to 3 hours per day to
continually play music and 15.8 % spent 3to 6 hours per day to continue playing
music (range 0.50 hrs to 6.00 hrs). For the length of time period for music training,
the majority of the sample in the musician group (71.0 %) had been playing music for
4 to 7 years; about 23.7 % had been playing music for 7 to 10 years. The age the
sample began to play the music, the results showed that (52.6 %) of the sample began
to play music at age 11 to 13 years old.
According to the Fig.3, Independent samples t-tests was performed to
determine the significant changes in mean scores on the frequency of the chosen
disadvantageous cards.Significant differences were found in the two groups’ the mean
score changes between Musician Group and non-musician group at alpha level of 0.05
(p <0.05) The Musician group’s the mean score changes (M=47.89, SD=7.9)
significantly exceeded those of the control group (M=52.08, SD=9.9)
Next, Independent samples t-tests was performed to determine the significant
changes in mean scores on the frequency of the chosen advantageous
cards.Significant differences were found in the two groups’ the mean score changes
between Musician Group and non-musician group at alpha level of 0.05 (p<0.05) The
Musician group’s the mean score changes (M=52.11, SD= 7.9) significantly exceeded
those of the control group (M=47.92, SD= 9.9)
58
*
54
50
*
Musician
Group
46
42
Non-Musician
Group
38
34
30
A+B
C+D
Fig.3 this figure represents the different mean between musician and non-musician
Discussion and Conclusion
Decision making pathway has begun from E-dorsal process and refer
to E- ventral process ( 3) . Decision making is composed of 2 types, first the Hot,
Effective decision making relate to reward and emotion brain such as ventromedial
prefrontal areas include orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
that evaluate option in choices, ventral striatum/ nucleus accumbens and amygdale
along with anterior cingulate gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, insula that connection
between medial and orbital prefrontal cortex,ACC, several nuclei of the amygdala (4 7) so that decision are called Somatic maker Hypothesis.Second, Cool, Cognitive
decision making is related to cognitive brain such as Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
that look for the future decision, control risk behavior and connect between E-dorsal
process and E- ventral process(4,8) ,The parietal cortex that estimate possibility, The
anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that evaluate risk and find reward, The right
dorsolateral , orbitofrontal cortex that evaluate option in choices , left middle and
inferior frontal gyri that reasonable and carefully ,dorsal striatum (5). The result
showed that there are significant differences in mean scores on decision-making
between the adolescent in the musician and non-musician groups.The IGT is
assessment HOT Decision making tools so this tools use reward and emotion process
induces decision making’s participant. It may explains that musician group has more
ability to control hot decision making than non-musician group.
This research showed the mean of frequency in the chosen advantageous card
score’s Musician Group showed higher scores than non-musician group whereas the
mean of frequency of chosen disadvantageous card score’s Musician Group showed
lower scores than non-musician group. This phenomenon may explain by the
Musician Group has more learn and evaluate option of choices in stage 1 of decision
making than non-musician group(9). It may explain by the function of in fluency
brain area as the research in 2001 Blood and Zatorre was found participant who listen
favorite song increase working in reward and emotion brain, insula, orbitofrontal
cortex, ventral striatum and decrease working in amygdala, hippocampus, and ventral
medial prefrontal cortex that assess by regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) (10)
In summary this reseach found that music training effect to hot decision
making in adolescence.Continuous music traing is associated to many brain area and
involve to the future decision making in adolescent (11)
Acknowledgements: This project is supported by the Office of the Higher Education
Commission and Mahidol University under the National Research Universities
Initiative.
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