RESUMO
Classical music pianists of five different conservatory levels, from undergraduate to professional, were tested on a sight-reading task with eye-movement recording. They had to sight read both tonal classical scores that followed the rules specific to Western tonal music, and atonal contemporary scores, which do not follow these rules. This study aimed at determining the extent to which eye movements and musical performance metrics can account for the level of sight-reading expertise. First, the results indicated that with the acquisition of expertise, musicians process visual information more rapidly (increasing their played tempo while decreasing average fixation duration and their number of fixations), more structurally (tending to increase their eye-hand span), and more accurately (increasing their sight-reading accuracy). Second, when they sight read contemporary scores compared to classical scores, musicians decreased their played tempo, tended to be less accurate, increased their number of fixations, and tended to decrease their eye-hand span. Finally, expertise effects were moderated by the type of score. These results suggest (a) that visual perception is progressively shaped through music reading expertise and through domain-specific knowledge acquisition, (b) that tonal-specific cues play a significant role to use an efficient eye-movement behavior and (c) that the benefit conferred by expert prior music-specific knowledge seems to be even greater for sight-reading tonal rather than atonal scores. Our findings are discussed in the light of expert memory theories (long-term working memory theory; Ericsson & Kintsch, 1995; template theory, Gobet & Simon, 1996). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
RESUMO
Recent literature suggests that when prolonged, motor imagery (MI) induces mental fatigue and negatively impacts subsequent physical exercise. The aim of this study was to confirm this possibility with neurophysiological and self-reported measures. Thirteen participants performed 200 imagined isometric knee extension contractions (Prolonged MI condition) or watched a documentary (Control condition), and then performed 150 actual isometric knee extensions. Electroencephalography was continuously recorded to obtain motor-related cortical potential amplitude at Cz electrode (MRCP, index of motor area activity) for each imagined and actual contraction. Electromyography of the vastus lateralis muscle as well as the perceived effort required to perform prolonged MI, watch the documentary, and perform the actual contractions were measured. During prolonged MI, mental fatigue level, the effort required to imagine the contractions and MRCP amplitude increased over time. The increase in the effort required to imagine the contractions was significantly correlated with the MRCP amplitude. During the physical exercise, a significant condition × time interaction revealed a greater increase over time in perceived effort in the prolonged MI condition compared to the control condition, as well as a specific alteration in EMG RMS of the vastus lateralis muscle. These alterations observed in the presence of mental fatigue during actual contractions, combined with those observed during prolonged MI, suggest that prolonged MI may impair the motor command required to perform imagined or actual contractions. While the observed effect of mental fatigue on MRCP amplitude was clear during MI, future studies should tailor the physical exercise to minimize the exercise-induced decrease in force production capacity and control for its confounding effects on MRCP amplitude in the presence of mental fatigue.