How is musical expertise related to executive functions? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Christ B Aryanto, Aireen R K Aisyah, Renee Timmers, Emma Blakey, Claudia C von Bastian

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis

In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Christ B AryantoFaculty of Psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No.51, Jakarta, 12930, Indonesia. christ.billy@atmajaya.ac.id.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6347-2505

Aireen R K AisyahFaculty of Psychology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No.51, Jakarta, 12930, Indonesia.

Renee TimmersSchool of Languages, Arts and Societies, University of Sheffield, Jessop West, 1 Upper Hanover Street, Sheffield, S3 7RA, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1981-0834

Emma BlakeySchool of Psychology, University of Sheffield, ICOSS Building, 219 Portobello, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3685-3649

Claudia C von BastianSchool of Psychology, University of Sheffield, ICOSS Building, 219 Portobello, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK. c.c.vonbastian@sheffield.ac.uk.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0667-2460

Funding

Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan 20200422341285

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A person's lifetime involvement with musical expertise has been hypothesized to be positively associated with executive functions, including inhibition, shifting, and working memory. However, results of past research have been inconclusive. This preregistered systematic review and three-level meta-analysis of 47 studies encompassing 235 effect sizes from 4,651 healthy adult participants investigated how strongly musical expertise relates to each of the three executive functions. The results showed significant medium associations between musical expertise and executive functions (g = 0.43), with small to medium associations between musical expertise and each of the functions: inhibition (g = 0.31), shifting (g = 0.22), and working memory (g = 0.49). Risk of bias moderated the relationship between musical expertise and inhibition, and the paradigm used to assess executive functions moderated the association between musical expertise and working memory. The results suggest that individuals who engage in musical activities have higher levels of executive function, with a particularly critical role of working memory in musical expertise. The literature review further identified several methodological issues, including predominant reliance on dichotomizing continuous variables and the use of small samples yielding low statistical power. The review offers methodological recommendations and directions for further investigating the relationship between working memory and musical expertise.

Indexed as

Executive FunctionInhibition, PsychologicalMemory, Short-TermMusicAdultCognitive FlexibilityHumansExecutive functionsMeta-analysisMusical expertise

Identifiers

PMID41703219

DOI10.3758/s13423-025-02769-4

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.