THE DEPENDENCE OF COHERENCE ESTIMATES OF SPONTANEOUS EEG ON GENDER AND MUSIC TRAINING

This study examined differences in the spontaneous electroencephalogra phic (EEG) signal in terms of music training and gender. Coherence est imates obtained by spectral analysis provided an efficacious method to study these differences. In the first study, differences in the spont aneous EEG between subjects with and without music training were obser ved. Subjects with music training exhibited significantly higher coher ence values both within and between cerebral hemispheres when compared with subjects without music training. The most striking differences w ere observed in the two lowest (delta and theta) and two highest (beta 1 and beta 2) bands, with differences in the temporoparietal regions of both hemispheres being most prominent. The findings are discussed i n terms of specialized organization of brain activity that influences cortical connectivity. Using the same method, differences in spontaneo us EEG were also found between male and female subjects. Females tende d to have significantly higher interhemispheric coherence values when compared with males. Both findings are also supported by recently disc overed anatomic differences.