Going online: successes and challenges in delivering group music instrument and aural learning for older adult novices during the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many cultural and artistic programs for older adults have been put on hold, despite the numerous physical, social, and emotional well-being benefits continued participation may bring. This article details a cross-section of participants (n = 13) in the Active Minds Music Ensemble—a longitudinal Australian-based research project that provides 12 months of group music instrument lessons to healthy older adult novices—who transitioned from face-to-face (F2F) to an online format. Research questions include the benefits and challenges for older adults as they cope with the technological demands of “going online,” perceived effects on teaching and older adults’ musical learning, as well as perceived effects on group learning benefits. Qualitative data were collected from three different perspectives: i) a frequently asked questions (FAQ) report from the research team documenting technological issues, ii) individual semi-structured interviews with the participants, and iii) a reflective report from the teacher. The findings confirm that online group music instrument lessons are viable for and valued by older adults, with appreciation of continued technical support. Teaching and learning changed as a result of the online format, primarily in the reduction of individual feedback and less interplay between participants; this was mitigated by use of various functions such as chat, whiteboards, and breakout rooms. Implications for older adult online music instrument lessons include providing continued technical support to learners and helping them maintain confidence with technology. Social opportunities for informal “side-chatter” may also help them to empathize with and encourage each other during music learning activities

AMMRI: a computational assessment tool for music novices’ replication and improvisation tasks

We present computational analyses of musical performances during 12-months study by novice participants aged 65–80. They learned two instruments (an electronic piano keyboard; the iPad app ThumbJam) each with two distinct approaches: replication by ear of melodies, and improvisation using specified methods. Here we present computational simulations and analyses of such processes and the corresponding R script. Using MIDI recordings from one participant group, we reveal diverse performance levels. Our tools are apt to analyse of our full dataset and potentially other assessments of early musical learning. The code can readily be developed for more advanced learners

Long-term depression of excitatory transmission in the lateral septum

Neurons in the lateral septum (LS) integrate glutamatergic synaptic inputs, primarily from hippocampus, and send inhibitory projections to brain regions involved in reward and the generation of motivated behavior. Motivated learning and drugs of abuse have been shown to induce long-term changes in the strength of glutamatergic synapses in the LS, but the cellular mechanisms underlying long-term synaptic modification in the LS are poorly understood. Here, we examined synaptic transmission and long-term depression (LTD) in brain slices prepared from male and female C57BL/6 mice. No sex differences were observed in whole cell patch-clamp recordings of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPA-R)- and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R)-mediated currents. Low-frequency stimulation of the fimbria fiber bundle (1 Hz 15 min) induced LTD of the LS field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP). Induction of LTD was blocked by the NMDA-R antagonist (d)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV), but not the selective antagonist of GluN2B-containing NMDA-Rs ifenprodil. These results demonstrate the NMDA-R dependence of LTD in the LS. The LS is a sexually dimorphic structure, and sex differences in glutamatergic transmission have been reported in vivo; our results suggest sex differences observed in vivo result from network activity rather than intrinsic differences in glutamatergic transmission.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The lateral septum (LS) integrates information from hippocampus and other regions to provide context-dependent (top down or higher order) regulation of mood and motivated behavior. Learning and drugs of abuse induce long-term changes in the strength of glutamatergic projections to the LS; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying such changes are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate there are no apparent sex differences in fast excitatory transmission and that long-term synaptic depression in the LS is NMDA-R dependent