Abstract. Until now, better performance in executive functions (EF) in musicians compared to non-musicians has not been investigated in relation to possible gender differences. For that, it is the main goal of this study to investigate possible gender differences in executive functions. Sixty-three musicians and 64 non-musicians, 63 men and 64 women respectively, completed tests of (a) cognitive processing speed (ZVT), (b) working memory (2-Back Task), (c) inhibition (Flanker Task), and (d) cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST). Results showed a significantly better performance for the target accuracy in the working memory task for musicians compared to non-musicians but not in the other tasks of executive functions. Furthermore, women demonstrated a better performance than men for the target accuracy in the 2-Back Task. However, only cognitive processing speed predicted working memory performance but not the group affiliation or gender. This study revealed that gender differences in executive functions are less likely to appear also in a trained sub-group.

中文翻译：

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音乐家和非音乐家的执行功能是否存在性别差异？

摘要。到目前为止，与非音乐家相比，音乐家在执行功能 (EF) 方面的更好表现尚未就可能的性别差异进行调查。为此，本研究的主要目标是调查执行功能中可能存在的性别差异。63 名音乐家和 64 名非音乐家，63 名男性和 64 名女性分别完成了 (a) 认知处理速度 (ZVT)、(b) 工作记忆 (2-Back Task)、(c) 抑制 (Flanker Task) 的测试，和 (d) 认知灵活性（威斯康星卡片分类测试，WCST）。结果表明，与非音乐家相比，音乐家在工作记忆任务中的目标准确性明显更好，但在执行功能的其他任务中则不然。此外，女性在 2-Back 任务中的目标准确性表现出比男性更好的表现。然而，只有认知处理速度可以预测工作记忆表现，而不是群体归属或性别。这项研究表明，执行功能的性别差异也不太可能出现在训练有素的亚组中。