]. The role of extraversion in background music and cognition is based on the concept that personality traits are associated with different levels of cortical arousal, with extraverts demonstrating less arousal than introverts. Adopting this perspective, background music could be detrimental or beneficial in memory tasks as a function of the level of cortical arousal associated with interindividual traits such as extroversion.
Finally, we acknowledge that our study has some limitations. One limitation is having used a within-subject design for the Music conditions. While this is usually suggested as an optimal design because it allows researchers to compare the same individuals in different experimental conditions, this may not have been the case in our study. As music-induced effects on arousal take time, it is possible that effects of music persisted across conditions.
In conclusion, our results suggest that the benefits of background music on memory are modulated by interindividual preferences towards music within older adults with MCI. Specifically, an individual’s use of music as an emotional regulator predicts their performance in recognition memory. Building upon this finding, further research is needed to continue to explore the role of interindividual preferences and attitudes toward music in patients with MCI.