Table 1.
Participant demographics.
| Non-musicians | Musicians | Pianists | String players | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 16 | 15 | 7 | 8 |
| Male/Female | 6/10 | 9/6 | 4/3 | 5/3 |
| Age (years) | 23.81 (2.14) | 24.13 (2.35) | 24.29 (3.40) | 24.00 (1.60) |
| AGE OF ONSET (YEARS) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | – | 5.47 (1.25) | 5.57 (1.62) | 5.38 (0.92) |
| Range | – | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–6 |
| FORMAL TRAINING (YEARS) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | – | 11.40 (3.33) | 10.00 (3.00) | 12.63 (3.29) |
| Range | – | 6–16 | 6–14 | 6–16 |
| CURRENT PRACTICE (H/WEEK) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | – | 6.60 (7.21) | 4.00 (5.69) | 8.88 (7.97) |
| Range | – | 0–25 | 0–15 | 2–25 |
| ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY | ||||
| 1mV L (%) | 45.38 (7.36) | 46.67 (6.38) | 49.00 (6.71) | 44.63 (5.71) |
| 1mV R (%) | 47.50 (7.47) | 47.07 (5.46) | 49.14 (4.14) | 45.25 (6.07) |
| IHI LR (%) | 38.34 (24.57)*+ | 54.37 (15.49) | 48.53 (16.34) | 59.47 (13.67) |
| IHI RL (%) | 45.22 (20.66) | 43.82 (19.80) | 42.56 (18.81) | 44.93 (21.86) |
[*]
denotes the significant difference in LR IHI between musicians and non-musicians (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.05). There were no significant age differences (p = 0.70) between the groups nor any differences in age of onset (p = 1), formal training (p = 0.52), or current practice (p = 0.80) between pianists and string players.
[+]
denotes the significant difference in IHI between string players and non-musicians (Bonferroni-corrected Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.05).