Shared structural and temporal integration resources for music and arithmetic processing

Abstract

While previous research has investigated the relationship either between language and music processing or between language and arithmetic processing, the present study investigated the relationship between music and arithmetic processing. Rule-governed number series, with the final number being a correct or incorrect series ending, were visually presented in synchrony with musical sequences, with the final chord functioning as the expected tonic or the less-expected subdominant chord (i.e., tonal function manipulation). Participants were asked to judge the correctness of the final number as quickly and accurately as possible. The results revealed an interaction between the processing of series ending and the processing of the task-irrelevant chords' tonal function, thus suggesting that music and arithmetic processing share cognitive resources. These findings are discussed in terms of general temporal and structural integration resources for linguistic and non-linguistic rule-governed sequences.