Modulatory role of background music on cognitive interference task in young people.

BACKGROUND

The Stroop Colour and Word Test (SCWT) is the most extensively used neuropsychological test in humans to evaluate the ability to inhibit cognitive interference. Any music played while the listener's primary attention is focused on another activity is known as background music and its effects on SCWT have not been studied well.

OBJECTIVE

The current study was designed to evaluate the influence of different background music (classical and heavy metal) on inhibiting cognitive interference in young adults by using the Stroop Colour and Word Test.

METHODS

Eighty student volunteers were invited for the study after obtaining their informed consent. They were first tested for colour blindness using Ishihara's colour test, and once passed, they were recruited to perform a computerised Stroop colour-word interference test. Each participant was requested to take part in four reading exercises: monochrome words, rectangle colours, coloured words and colour naming, respectively. These exercises were performed under three different conditions such as silence (absence of background music), presence of heavy metal and classical music, respectively. The participants' reaction time, errors made and heart rate were recorded and compared.

RESULTS

The participants' reaction time was found to be significantly decreased with classical and heavy metal background music compared with the silence condition. The heart rate and errors made by the participants did not significantly change during any of the study conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this study indicate the positive impact of background music on a cognitive interference task. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms.