Date Thesis Awarded
4-2017
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Neuroscience
Advisor
Paul Kieffaber
Committee Members
Brian Hulse
Jennifer Stevens
Abstract
A large body of experimental research demonstrates that environments and behavioral experiences can affect cognitive performance. There has been increasing interest in the influence of musical experience on normal neuronal functioning over the past decade. However, much of this research has failed to target specific neural activity as indicators of cognitive function. One such measure of neural activity is the mismatch negativity (MMN), an event-related potential (ERP) that occurs in response to the presentation of a deviant stimulus in a sequence of repeated stimuli. The primary aim of the current study was to explore the influence of musical experience on sensory integration as measured using the MMN ERP. It was predicted that (1) the MMN could be used as a measure of multisensory integration and (2) that this measure of multisensory integration would correlate with an individual’s level of musical experience (as determined by pre-study measurements).
Recommended Citation
Bostler, Victoria A., "Neural Correlates of Multisensory Integration and the Role of Musical Experience" (2017). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1077.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1077
