Neuroplasticity of Multisensory Cortical Areas Induced by Musical Training: a Translational Approach (MusicPlast)

"Each subject will receive 20 sessions of the computerized training based on a simplified music reading protocol. The training will be provided via a smartphone or a tablet. Each training session will last for 20 minutes and the log file will be directly available to the researcher, allowing him/her to follow subject's timely participation. The stimuli used in the training protocol will consist of a visual image showing a circle on top of a background of 5 horizontal lines. The auditory part of the stimulus will consist of piano melodies of known songs. The position of the circle within the five lines will either follow the rule the higher the pitch of the tone, the higher the position of the circle or it will violate the above rule. The task requires audiovisual integration."

Each subject will receive 20 sessions of the computerized training within a period of 4 weeks, aiming to train visual search via spot-the-difference tasks and identification of dissonance in music. Auditory and visual stimuli are concurrently presented, but do not require audiovisual integration.