Do Musicians Have Better Short-Term Memory Than Nonmusicians? A Multilab Study
Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, vol. 8
Abstract
Musicians are often regarded as a positive example of brain plasticity and associated cognitive benefits. This emerges when experienced musicians (e.g., musicians with more than 10 years of music training and practice) are compared with nonmusicians. A frequently observed behavioral finding is a short-term memory advantage of the former over the latter. Although available meta-analysis reported that the effect size of this advantage is medium (Hedges’s g = 0.5), no literature study was adequately powered to estimate reliably an effect of such size. This multilab study has been ideated, realized, and conducted in lab by several groups that have been working on this topic. Our ultimate goal was to provide a community-driven shared and reliable estimate of the musicians’ short-term memory advantage (if any) and set a method and a standard for future studies in neuroscience and psychology comparing musicians and nonmusicians. Thirty-three research units recruited a total of 600 experienced musicians and 600 nonmusicians, a number that is sufficiently large to estimate a small effect size (Hedges’s g = 0.3) with a high statistical power (i.e., 95%). Subsequently, we measured the difference in short-term memory for musical, verbal, and visuospatial stimuli. We also looked at cognitive, personality, and socioeconomic factors that might mediate the difference. Musicians had better short-term memory than nonmusicians for musical, verbal, and visuospatial stimuli with an effect size of, respectively, Hedges’s g s = 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.94, 1.22]; large), 0.16 (95% CI = [0.02 0.30]; very small), and 0.28 (95% CI = [0.15, 0.41]; small). This work sets the basis for sound research practices in studies comparing musicians and nonmusicians and contributes to the ongoing debate on the possible cognitive benefits of musical training.
Authors 94
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Massimo Grassi corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Aarhus University · University of Bari Aldo Moro
Affiliation as printed
Center for Music in the Brain (MIB), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Inserm · Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon
Affiliation as printed
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, F-69500, Bron, France
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Affiliation as printed
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire d'étude de l'apprentissage et du développement · Université Bourgogne Europe
Affiliation as printed
Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, LEAD UMR5022, 21000, Dijon, France
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Brain & Behavioural Science, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge · Universitat de Barcelona
Affiliation as printed
Department of Cognition, Development and Education Psychology, University of Barcelona / Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain
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Affiliation as printed
Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire d'étude de l'apprentissage et du développement · Université Bourgogne Europe
Affiliation as printed
Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, LEAD UMR5022, 21000, Dijon, France
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Aarhus University · Royal Academy of Music
Affiliation as printed
Center for Music in the Brain (MIB), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick Saint John, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, NB, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick Saint John, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, NB, Canada
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Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia · University of Sheffield
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Faculty of Psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
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Universidade Federal de São Paulo
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa · Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Psychological Research and Social Intervention (CIS-Iscte), Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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University Medical Center Groningen · University of Groningen
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otorhinolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Affiliation as printed
Department of Music, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São Paulo, Brazil
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Fleur L. Bouwer Aachen Cognitive Psychology Unit Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition
Affiliation as printed
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Research in Cognitive Neuroscience (CRCN), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge · Computer Vision Center · Universitat de Barcelona
Affiliation as printed
Bridging Research in AI and Neuroscience (BRAIN), Computer Vision Center (CVC), Bellaterra, Spain
Department of Cognition, Development and Education Psychology, University of Barcelona / Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain
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Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
Affiliation as printed
Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M., Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Research in Cognitive Neuroscience (CRCN), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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VIZJA University · Centre for Research on Brain Language and Music · International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research · Université de Montréal
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Montreal, Canada
Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vizja University, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Music, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire d'étude de l'apprentissage et du développement · Université Bourgogne Europe
Affiliation as printed
Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, LEAD UMR5022, 21000, Dijon, France
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Université de Lille · Psychologie : Interactions, Temps, Emotions, Cognition
Affiliation as printed
Département de Psychology, Laboratoire PSITEC ULR 4072, Université de Lille, Lille, France
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Mosjøen, Norway
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul · Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Affiliation as printed
Department of Music, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São Paulo, Brazil
Department of Psychology, Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire d'étude de l'apprentissage et du développement · Université Bourgogne Europe · Western Sydney University
Affiliation as printed
The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sidney, Australia
Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, LEAD UMR5022, 21000, Dijon, France
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Vanderbilt University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Brain & Behavioural Science, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
Affiliation as printed
Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M., Germany
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Vanderbilt University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
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Inserm · École Pratique des Hautes Études · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie · Université de Caen Normandie
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Université de Caen Normandie, Inserm, EPHE-PSL, PSL Université Paris, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, U1077, NIMH, 14000 Caen, France
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University of Southern California
Affiliation as printed
Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, United States
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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University Medical Center Groningen · University of Groningen
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otorhinolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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The University of Sydney · Western Sydney University
Affiliation as printed
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, Sidney, Australia
The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sidnay, Australia
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Music, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
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Maria G. Jol Aachen Cognitive Psychology Unit Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition
Affiliation as printed
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
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University of Maryland, College Park
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain; Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Maastricht University · Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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TUM Klinikum · Hanover University of Music Drama and Media · Technical University of Munich
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neurology, TUM University Clinic Rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Germany
Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media, Hanover, Germany
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Vanderbilt University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa · Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Psychological Research and Social Intervention (CIS-Iscte), Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Affiliation as printed
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Vanderbilt University · Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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Affiliation as printed
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Goldsmiths University of London
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Niloufar Najafi Aachen Cognitive Psychology Unit Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition
Affiliation as printed
Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain; Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Université de Lille · Psychologie : Interactions, Temps, Emotions, Cognition
Affiliation as printed
Département de Psychology, Laboratoire PSITEC ULR 4072, Université de Lille, Lille, France
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Universidade Federal de São Paulo
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Edinburgh Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Reid School of Music, ECA, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
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Hanover University of Music Drama and Media
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine, Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media, Hanover, Germany
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Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Inserm · Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon
Affiliation as printed
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, F-69500, Bron, France
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Inserm · École Pratique des Hautes Études · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie · Université de Caen Normandie
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Université de Caen Normandie, Inserm, EPHE-PSL, PSL Université Paris, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, U1077, NIMH, 14000 Caen, France
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Inserm · École Pratique des Hautes Études · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie · Université de Caen Normandie
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Université de Caen Normandie, Inserm, EPHE-PSL, PSL Université Paris, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, U1077, NIMH, 14000 Caen, France
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick Saint John, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, NB, Canada
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Universidade Federal de São Paulo
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Universidad de Granada · Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento · McMaster University
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Affiliation as printed
Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence Department, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sidney, Australia
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics · Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M., Germany
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Inserm · Institut Pasteur · Université Paris Cité · Université de Lille · Psychologie : Interactions, Temps, Emotions, Cognition · Fondation Pour l'Audition · Institut de l'Audition
Affiliation as printed
Département de Psychology, Laboratoire PSITEC ULR 4072, Université de Lille, Lille, France
Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, AP-HP, INSERM, CNRS, Fondation Pour l’Audition, Institut de l’Audition, IHU reConnect, F-75012 Paris, France
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Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa · University of Toronto · Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Psychological Research and Social Intervention (CIS-Iscte), Iscte - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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University of Maryland, College Park
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Inserm · Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon
Affiliation as printed
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, F-69500, Bron, France
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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University of Maryland, College Park
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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Affiliation as printed
Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain; Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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