Stimulus Predictability and Liking Enhance Auditory–Motor Encoding and Memory for Melodies

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Main Authors: Alexander W. Albury, Roberta Bianco, Aaron P. Johnson, Virginia B. Penhune
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2026
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author Alexander W. Albury
Roberta Bianco
Aaron P. Johnson
Virginia B. Penhune
author_facet Alexander W. Albury
Roberta Bianco
Aaron P. Johnson
Virginia B. Penhune
Alexander W. Albury
Roberta Bianco
Aaron P. Johnson
Virginia B. Penhune
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Stimulus Predictability and Liking Enhance Auditory–Motor Encoding and Memory for Melodies Alexander W. Albury Roberta Bianco Aaron P. Johnson Virginia B. Penhune Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences ABSTRACT The ability to predict or anticipate musical events contributes to music‐related pleasure and memory; however, their contributions to learning to play a melody have been less well‐explored. In this study, we investigated how musical predictability and pleasure influenced how nonmusicians learned to play short melodies, as well as post‐learning recall. Participants listened to and rated perceived pleasure for melodies that varied in predictability while we measured pupil dilation as an index of attention and arousal. Participants then learned to play the ending of each melody. We found that pupil dilation during listening was sensitive to musical predictability and liking ratings, with pupil size increasing for more liked and more predictable melodies. During the motor learning task, participants’ asynchrony scores were modulated by liking and predictability: More predictable melodies resulted in lower asynchrony overall, whereas more liked melodies elicited steeper learning slopes. During recall, more predictable melodies were better recognized. Finally, individuals with better recognition performance also showed greater pupil dilation during the initial listening, along with steeper motor learning slopes. Altogether, these findings indicate that arousal is linked to predictability and pleasure, and that all three factors are related to auditory encoding, motor learning, and explicit recognition of musical stimuli. 10.1111/nyas.70310 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1111/nyas.70310
format Artículo Open Access
id wiley_oa_10_1111_nyas_70310
institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
publishDate 2026
publisher Wiley
record_format wiley_oa
spellingShingle Stimulus Predictability and Liking Enhance Auditory–Motor Encoding and Memory for Melodies
Alexander W. Albury
Roberta Bianco
Aaron P. Johnson
Virginia B. Penhune
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Stimulus Predictability and Liking Enhance Auditory–Motor Encoding and Memory for Melodies Alexander W. Albury Roberta Bianco Aaron P. Johnson Virginia B. Penhune Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences ABSTRACT The ability to predict or anticipate musical events contributes to music‐related pleasure and memory; however, their contributions to learning to play a melody have been less well‐explored. In this study, we investigated how musical predictability and pleasure influenced how nonmusicians learned to play short melodies, as well as post‐learning recall. Participants listened to and rated perceived pleasure for melodies that varied in predictability while we measured pupil dilation as an index of attention and arousal. Participants then learned to play the ending of each melody. We found that pupil dilation during listening was sensitive to musical predictability and liking ratings, with pupil size increasing for more liked and more predictable melodies. During the motor learning task, participants’ asynchrony scores were modulated by liking and predictability: More predictable melodies resulted in lower asynchrony overall, whereas more liked melodies elicited steeper learning slopes. During recall, more predictable melodies were better recognized. Finally, individuals with better recognition performance also showed greater pupil dilation during the initial listening, along with steeper motor learning slopes. Altogether, these findings indicate that arousal is linked to predictability and pleasure, and that all three factors are related to auditory encoding, motor learning, and explicit recognition of musical stimuli. 10.1111/nyas.70310 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Stimulus Predictability and Liking Enhance Auditory–Motor Encoding and Memory for Melodies
topic Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
url https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.70310