Dataset Information

The 'Goldilocks Zone': getting the measure of manual asymmetries.

ABSTRACT: Some studies have shown that manual asymmetries decrease in older age. These results have often been explained with reference to models of reduced hemispheric specialisation. An alternative explanation, however, is that hand differences are subtle, and capturing them requires tasks that yield optimal performance with both hands. Whereas the hemispheric specialisation account implies that reduced manual asymmetries should be reliably observed in older adults, the 'measurement difficulty' account suggests that manual asymmetries will be hard to detect unless a task has just the right level of difficulty--i.e. within the 'Goldilocks Zone', where it is not too easy or too hard, but just right. Experiment One tested this hypothesis and found that manual asymmetries were only detected when participants performed in this zone; specifically, performance on a tracing task was only superior in the preferred hand when task constraints were high (i.e. fast speed tracing). Experiment Two used three different tasks to examine age differences in manual asymmetries; one task produced no asymmetries, whilst two tasks revealed asymmetries in both younger and older groups (with poorer overall performance in the old group across all tasks). Experiment Three revealed task-dependent asymmetries in both age groups, but highlighted further detection difficulties linked with the metric of performance and compensatory strategies used by participants. Results are discussed with reference to structural learning theory, whereby we suggest that the processes of inter-manual transfer lead to relatively small performance differences between the hands (despite a strong phenomenological sense of performance disparities).

SUBMITTER: Raw RK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4449126 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The 'Goldilocks Zone': getting the measure of manual asymmetries.

Raw Rachael K RK Wilkie Richard M RM White Alan A Williams Justin H G JH Mon-Williams Mark M

PloS one 20150529 5

Some studies have shown that manual asymmetries decrease in older age. These results have often been explained with reference to models of reduced hemispheric specialisation. An alternative explanation, however, is that hand differences are subtle, and capturing them requires tasks that yield optimal performance with both hands. Whereas the hemispheric specialisation account implies that reduced manual asymmetries should be reliably observed in older adults, the 'measurement difficulty' account ...[more]

PMID: 26023774

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Project description:BackgroundMusic performance anxiety is a common experience among elite and professional musicians and impedes performers from achieving flow state, or a state of focused, sustained engagement that promotes optimal performance.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to use heart rate variability (HRV) to determine the psychophysiological underpinnings of optimal music performance.MethodsWe assessed HRV to study how autonomic-cardiac modulation was associated with flow during piano performance. Twenty-two pianists (15-22 years) with at least a Grade 8 Royal Conservatory of Music certification prepared two standardized pieces and a self-selected piece. Performer heart rate data were measured with a Polar 800 watch in 5-min periods immediately before performances, during performances and post-performance. HRV was employed to assess autonomic modulation of cardiac intervals. HRV indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation of the heart were analyzed in 2.5-min segments to monitor short-term autonomic adjustments using the Kubios HRV Software. Flow state was measured using the 36-item Flow State Scale (FSS). Relationships were analyzed using zero-order correlations and multiple linear regressions.ResultsOur sample consisted of 22 RCM Grade 8 certified pianists. Participants achieved the highest level of flow during performance of the Bach piece. Decreased HRV was observed during performance, as indicated by a significant drop in total power. Flow state was positively associated with High Frequency (HF) power during the pre-performance phase, and inversely associated with Low Frequency (LF) power during performance.ConclusionInverse association of flow with LF-HRV during performance affirms the importance of vagal-HR modulation for achievement of flow state. Increased HF-HRV and reduced LF-HRV immediately prior to performance suggests that flow state may be shaped as much by physiological preparation during pre-performance as it is by physiologic responses during performance. Further research is required to validate the correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and flow state. Evidence of this correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and achievement of flow state may pave the way for further research on enhancing musical performance and targeting MPA through HRV-based interventions.

Dataset Information

The 'Goldilocks Zone': getting the measure of manual asymmetries.

Publications

The 'Goldilocks Zone': getting the measure of manual asymmetries.

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