Influences of Instructions and Expertise on the Mechanisms Involved During a Working Memory Task

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of instructions and expertise upon cortical mechanisms during a working memory task. Ten professional pianists and ten musically naïve subjects were instructed to retain for a short period of time, sequential finger movements viewed previously with the aim of either replicating them or recognizing them at a later stage. The results showed that in the 20–30 Hz frequency band and in musically naïve subjects, functional connectivity was greater within the occipital, parietal, central, frontal, right, and left temporal areas when the subjects were invited to remember the observed movement in order to replicate it compared to the recognition condition in which they had to recognize it. In professional pianists, incomplete connectivity equivalence was detected between the two conditions. In addition, under the condition for replica, functional connectivity in musically naïve subjects was greater in the central area compared to professional pianists. Explanations related to the: (i) level of expertise, (ii) nature of operations involved during the retention period, and (iii) task demand are discussed.