Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention and phonological processing.
Rhythmic abilities are linked to performance across a range of cognitive tasks, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. We evaluated 98 Mexican participants using the Speech-to-Speech Synchronization Test (SSS-Test), a self-report measure of musical training, and an extensive...
| Published in: | Communications Psychology Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 1 - 15 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
4/4/2026
|
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194225405&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194225405 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 27319121 N51Q jtl: Communications Psychology issn: 27319121 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 4/4/2026 vid: 4 iid: 1 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 194225405 194225405 194225405 10.1038/s44271-026-00444-5 194225405 ppf: 1 ppct: 14 formats: tig: atl: Rhythmic skills mediate the link between music training and cognition via attention and phonological processing. aug: au: Lizcano-Cortés, Fernando Ripollés, Pablo Barrios, Fernando A. Assaneo, M. Florencia affil: https://ror.org/01tmp8f25 Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico sug: subj: Language Processing Evaluation Cognition Evaluation Attention Evaluation Music Motor Skills Task Performance and Analysis Human Female Male Experimental Studies Sample Size Mexicans Self Report Language Tests Processing Speed Vocabulary Semantic Analysis Memory Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance Power Analysis Mann-Whitney U Test Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test Effect Size Correlation Coefficient Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient Factor Analysis Mediation Analysis Post Hoc Analysis Data Analysis Software Descriptive Statistics Confidence Intervals Funding Source Female Male ab: Rhythmic abilities are linked to performance across a range of cognitive tasks, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. We evaluated 98 Mexican participants using the Speech-to-Speech Synchronization Test (SSS-Test), a self-report measure of musical training, and an extensive cognitive battery. Analyses revealed that phonological language processing and temporal attention are the core cognitive skills associated with auditory-motor rhythmic proficiency (as assessed by the SSS-Test). Importantly, this relationship appears thresholded: cognitive benefits emerge only when rhythmic abilities exceed a specific level, with further refinements conferring no additional advantage. Moreover, we show that the link between musical training and cognition is fully mediated by this rhythmic performance threshold. These findings provide a unifying framework for understanding how rhythmic skills impact cognition and clarify the mechanisms through which musical training may confer cognitive benefits. Rhythmic ability enhances attention and phonological processing only after surpassing a specific threshold; beyond this point, additional improvements confer no further benefit. This thresholded relationship may explain the positive impact of musical training on cognition. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|