We are seeking paid participants for an in-person study on how people learn new voice sequences, and how lyrics (words), expertise, and age contribute to learning.
We are recruiting people in the following groups: Young adult music novices (ages 18-35), older adult music novices (ages 55-85), and expert musicians (ages 18-85). Novices should have less than 2 year of formal music training (church or community choir does not constitute formal music training). Expert musicians should have six or more years of formal music training and experience on a musical instrument or voice.
All participants must be right-handed, speak English fluently, be safe to enter a magnetic resonance imaging environment, and not have any diagnosed neurological disorders.
Participants will visit the Texas Tech Neuroimaging Institute for 1.5 hours for the study. This is NOT a clinical study. It will not involve medication or treatment. Research participation is completely confidential.
During the study, participants will learn new vocal sequences while undergoing MRI scanning (fMRI, structural MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging). fMRI scanning uses magnets to measure changes in oxygen in your brain while you do different activities. In addition, we will collect structural scans that are high resolution pictures of your brain, and diffusion tensor scans that measure how water molecules move around in your brain.
Participants will receive $50 for their participation.
For more information or to sign up, email caprockscience@gmail.com. Questions or concerns can also be directed to the CAPROCK Lab’s Director, Tyler Davis (email: tyler.h.davis@ttu.edu; phone: (806) 834-4854).
This study has been approved by the Texas Tech University Institutional Review Board.