151
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152
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Strait D, Kraus N. Playing Music for a Smarter Ear: Cognitive, Perceptual and Neurobiological Evidence. MUSIC PERCEPTION 2011; 29:133-146. [PMID: 22993456 PMCID: PMC3444167 DOI: 10.1525/mp.2011.29.2.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Human hearing depends on a combination of cognitive and sensory processes that function by means of an interactive circuitry of bottom-up and top-down neural pathways, extending from the cochlea to the cortex and back again. Given that similar neural pathways are recruited to process sounds related to both music and language, it is not surprising that the auditory expertise gained over years of consistent music practice fine-tunes the human auditory system in a comprehensive fashion, strengthening neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of both music and speech processing. In this review we argue not only that common neural mechanisms for speech and music exist, but that experience in music leads to enhancements in sensory and cognitive contributors to speech processing. Of specific interest is the potential for music training to bolster neural mechanisms that undergird language-related skills, such as reading and hearing speech in background noise, which are critical to academic progress, emotional health, and vocational success.
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153
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Pantev C, Herholz SC. Plasticity of the human auditory cortex related to musical training. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2011; 35:2140-54. [PMID: 21763342 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2010] [Revised: 06/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christo Pantev
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Malmedyweg 15, Münster, Germany.
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154
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Hanna-Pladdy B, MacKay A. The relation between instrumental musical activity and cognitive aging. Neuropsychology 2011; 25:378-86. [PMID: 21463047 DOI: 10.1037/a0021895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Intensive repetitive musical practice can lead to bilateral cortical reorganization. However, whether musical sensorimotor and cognitive abilities transfer to nonmusical cognitive abilities that are maintained throughout the life span is unclear. In an attempt to identify modifiable lifestyle factors that may potentially enhance successful aging, we evaluated the association between musical instrumental participation and cognitive aging. METHOD Seventy older healthy adults (ages 60-83) varying in musical activity completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The groups (nonmusicians, low and high activity musicians) were matched on age, education, history of physical exercise, while musicians were matched on age of instrumental acquisition and formal years of musical training. Musicians were classified in the low (1-9 years) or high (>10 years) activity group based on years of musical experience throughout their life span. RESULTS The results of this preliminary study revealed that participants with at least 10 years of musical experience (high activity musicians) had better performance in nonverbal memory (η2 = .106), naming (η2 = .103), and executive processes (η2 = .131) in advanced age relative to nonmusicians. Several regression analyses evaluated how years of musical activity, age of acquisition, type of musical training, and other variables predicted cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS These correlational results suggest a strong predictive effect of high musical activity throughout the life span on preserved cognitive functioning in advanced age. A discussion of how musical participation may enhance cognitive aging is provided along with other alternative explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda Hanna-Pladdy
- Landon Center on Aging, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, USA.
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155
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Moreno S, Bialystok E, Barac R, Schellenberg EG, Cepeda NJ, Chau T. Short-term music training enhances verbal intelligence and executive function. Psychol Sci 2011; 22:1425-33. [PMID: 21969312 DOI: 10.1177/0956797611416999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 293] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers have designed training methods that can be used to improve mental health and to test the efficacy of education programs. However, few studies have demonstrated broad transfer from such training to performance on untrained cognitive activities. Here we report the effects of two interactive computerized training programs developed for preschool children: one for music and one for visual art. After only 20 days of training, only children in the music group exhibited enhanced performance on a measure of verbal intelligence, with 90% of the sample showing this improvement. These improvements in verbal intelligence were positively correlated with changes in functional brain plasticity during an executive-function task. Our findings demonstrate that transfer of a high-level cognitive skill is possible in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Moreno
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, 3560 Bathurst St., 914 VS, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6A 2E1.
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156
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Penhune VB. Sensitive periods in human development: Evidence from musical training. Cortex 2011; 47:1126-37. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2011.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2009] [Revised: 04/06/2010] [Accepted: 08/25/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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157
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Meyer M, Elmer S, Ringli M, Oechslin MS, Baumann S, Jancke L. Long-term exposure to music enhances the sensitivity of the auditory system in children. Eur J Neurosci 2011; 34:755-65. [PMID: 21848923 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07795.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This event-related brain potential study aims to contribute to the present debate regarding the effect of musical training on the maturation of the human auditory nervous system. To address this issue, we recorded the mismatch negativity (MMN) evoked by violin and pure sine-wave tones in a group of 7.5- to 12-year-old children who had either several years of musical experience with Suzuki violin lessons, or no musical training. The strength of the MMN responses to violin tones evident in the Suzuki students clearly surpassed responses in controls; the reverse pattern was observed for sine-wave tones. Suzuki students showed significantly shorter MMN latencies to violin tones than to pure tones; the MMN latency did not differ significantly between pure tones and violin sounds in the control group. Thus, our data provide general evidence of how and to what extent extensive musical experience affects the maturation of human auditory function at multiple levels, namely, accuracy and speed of auditory discrimination processing. Our findings add to the present understanding of neuroplastic organization and function of the mammalian nervous system. Furthermore, behavioural recordings obtained from the participating children provide corroborating evidence for a relationship between the duration and intensity of training, the specific sensitivity to instrumental timbre, and pitch recognition abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Meyer
- Department of Neuropsychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuhlestrasse 14/25, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland.
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158
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Wehrum S, Degé F, Ott U, Walter B, Stippekohl B, Kagerer S, Schwarzer G, Vaitl D, Stark R. Can you hear a difference? Neuronal correlates of melodic deviance processing in children. Brain Res 2011; 1402:80-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.05.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2010] [Revised: 05/21/2011] [Accepted: 05/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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159
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Tervaniemi M, Sannemann C, Noyranen M, Salonen J, Pihko E. Importance of the left auditory areas in chord discrimination in music experts as demonstrated by MEG. Eur J Neurosci 2011; 34:517-23. [PMID: 21714818 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07765.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mari Tervaniemi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Cognitive Science, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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160
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Besson M, Chobert J, Marie C. Transfer of Training between Music and Speech: Common Processing, Attention, and Memory. Front Psychol 2011; 2:94. [PMID: 21738519 PMCID: PMC3125524 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2011] [Accepted: 04/29/2011] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
After a brief historical perspective of the relationship between language and music, we review our work on transfer of training from music to speech that aimed at testing the general hypothesis that musicians should be more sensitive than non-musicians to speech sounds. In light of recent results in the literature, we argue that when long-term experience in one domain influences acoustic processing in the other domain, results can be interpreted as common acoustic processing. But when long-term experience in one domain influences the building-up of abstract and specific percepts in another domain, results are taken as evidence for transfer of training effects. Moreover, we also discuss the influence of attention and working memory on transfer effects and we highlight the usefulness of the event-related potentials method to disentangle the different processes that unfold in the course of music and speech perception. Finally, we give an overview of an on-going longitudinal project with children aimed at testing transfer effects from music to different levels and aspects of speech processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireille Besson
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, CNRS, Université de la Méditerranée Marseille, France
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161
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Trainor LJ, Lee K, Bosnyak DJ. Cortical plasticity in 4-month-old infants: specific effects of experience with musical timbres. Brain Topogr 2011; 24:192-203. [PMID: 21445665 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-011-0177-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2010] [Accepted: 03/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Animal models suggest that the brain is particularly neuroplastic early in development, but previous studies have not systematically controlled the auditory environment in human infants and observed the effects on auditory cortical representations. We exposed 4-month-old infants to melodies in either guitar or marimba timbre (infants were randomly assigned to exposure group) for a total of ~160 min over the course of a week, after which we measured electroencephalogram (EEG) responses to guitar and marimba tones at pitches not previously heard during the exposure phase. A frontally negative response with a topography consistent with generation in auditory areas, peaking around 450 ms, was significantly larger for guitar than marimba tones in the guitar-exposed group but significantly larger for marimba than guitar tones in the marimba-exposed group. This indicates that experience with tones in a particular timbre affects representations for that timbre, and that this effect generalizes to tones not previously experienced during exposure. Furthermore, mismatch responses to occasional small 3% changes in pitch were larger for tones in guitar than marimba timbre only for infants exposed to guitar tones. Together these results indicate that a relatively small amount of passive exposure to a particular timbre in infancy enhances representations of that timbre and leads to more precise pitch processing for that timbre.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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162
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Parviainen T, Helenius P, Poskiparta E, Niemi P, Salmelin R. Speech perception in the child brain: cortical timing and its relevance to literacy acquisition. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 32:2193-206. [PMID: 21391257 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2010] [Revised: 08/18/2010] [Accepted: 09/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech processing skills go through intensive development during mid-childhood, providing basis also for literacy acquisition. The sequence of auditory cortical processing of speech has been characterized in adults, but very little is known about the neural representation of speech sound perception in the developing brain. We used whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) to record neural responses to speech and nonspeech sounds in first-graders (7-8-year-old) and compared the activation sequence to that in adults. In children, the general location of neural activity in the superior temporal cortex was similar to that in adults, but in the time domain the sequence of activation was strikingly different. Cortical differentiation between sound types emerged in a prolonged response pattern at about 250 ms after sound onset, in both hemispheres, clearly later than the corresponding effect at about 100 ms in adults that was detected specifically in the left hemisphere. Better reading skills were linked with shorter-lasting neural activation, speaking for interdependence of the maturing neural processes of auditory perception and developing linguistic skills. This study uniquely utilized the potential of MEG in comparing both spatial and temporal characteristics of neural activation between adults and children. Besides depicting the group-typical features in cortical auditory processing, the results revealed marked interindividual variability in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiina Parviainen
- Brain Research Unit, Low Temperature Laboratory, Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Espoo, Finland.
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163
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Associations between music education, intelligence, and spelling ability in elementary school. Adv Cogn Psychol 2011; 7:1-6. [PMID: 21614212 PMCID: PMC3101523 DOI: 10.2478/v10053-008-0082-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2010] [Accepted: 12/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Musical education has a beneficial effect on higher cognitive functions, but
questions arise whether associations between music lessons and cognitive
abilities are specific to a domain or general. We tested 194 boys in Grade 3 by
measuring reading and spelling performance, non verbal intelligence and asked
parents about musical activities since preschool. Questionnaire data showed that
53% of the boys had learned to play a musical instrument. Intelligence was
higher for boys playing an instrument (p < .001). To
control for unspecific effects we excluded families without instruments. The
effect on intelligence remained (p < .05).
Furthermore, boys playing an instrument showed better performance in spelling
compared to the boys who were not playing, despite family members with
instruments (p < .01). This effect was observed
independently of IQ. Our findings suggest an association between music education
and general cognitive ability as well as a specific language link.
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164
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Music training and working memory: an ERP study. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:1083-1094. [PMID: 21315092 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2010] [Revised: 12/22/2010] [Accepted: 02/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
While previous research has suggested that music training is associated with improvements in various cognitive and linguistic skills, the mechanisms mediating or underlying these associations are mostly unknown. Here, we addressed the hypothesis that previous music training is related to improved working memory. Using event-related potentials (ERPs) and a standardized test of working memory, we investigated both neural and behavioral aspects of working memory in college-aged, non-professional musicians and non-musicians. Behaviorally, musicians outperformed non-musicians on standardized subtests of visual, phonological, and executive memory. ERPs were recorded in standard auditory and visual oddball paradigms (participants responded to infrequent deviant stimuli embedded in lists of standard stimuli). Electrophysiologically, musicians demonstrated faster updating of working memory (shorter latency P300s) in both the auditory and visual domains and musicians allocated more neural resources to auditory stimuli (larger amplitude P300), showing increased sensitivity to the auditory standard/deviant difference and less effortful updating of auditory working memory. These findings demonstrate that long-term music training is related to improvements in working memory, in both the auditory and visual domains and in terms of both behavioral and ERP measures.
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165
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Allen R, Fioratou E, McGeorge P. Cognitive Adaptation: Spatial Memory or Attentional Processing. A Comment on Furley and Memmert (2010). Percept Mot Skills 2011; 112:243-6. [DOI: 10.2466/04.22.pms.112.1.243-246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This commentary considers the paper by Furley and Memmert (2010) who sought to test the respective validities of the specific processing and cognitive adaptation hypotheses. That they found no evidence of a difference between experienced basketball players and nonathletes on the Corsi block task, a measure of spatial memory, led them to infer support for the specific processing hypothesis, namely that differences between experts and novices manifest themselves only in processes related specifically to the domain of expertise. An alternative interpretation is offered, indicating possible confounds and referring to recent research that suggests Corsi block and dynamic spatial tasks depend upon different neuronal networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
| | - E. Fioratou
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
| | - P. McGeorge
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
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166
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Abstract
Abstract
The present study aimed to examine the influence of musical expertise on the metric and semantic aspects of speech processing. In two attentional conditions (metric and semantic tasks), musicians listened to short sentences ending in trisyllabic words that were semantically and/or metrically congruous or incongruous. Both ERPs and behavioral data were analyzed and the results were compared to previous nonmusicians' data. Regarding the processing of meter, results showed that musical expertise influenced the automatic detection of the syllable temporal structure (P200 effect), the integration of metric structure and its influence on word comprehension (N400 effect), as well as the reanalysis of metric violations (P600 and late positivities effects). By contrast, results showed that musical expertise did not influence the semantic level of processing. These results are discussed in terms of transfer of training effects from music to speech processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Marie
- 1Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée CNRS and Aix-Marseille Universités, Marseille, France
| | - Cyrille Magne
- 2Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
| | - Mireille Besson
- 1Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée CNRS and Aix-Marseille Universités, Marseille, France
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167
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Abstract
The influence of music on the human brain has been recently investigated in numerous studies. Several investigations have shown that structural and functional cerebral neuroplastic processes emerge as a result of long-term musical training, which in turn may produce cognitive differences between musicians and non-musicians. Musicians can be considered ideal cases for studies on brain adaptation, due to their unique and intensive training experiences. This article presents a review of recent findings showing positive effects of musical training on non-musical cognitive abilities, which probably reflect plastic changes in brains of musicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Carolina Rodrigues
- MSc, Neurosciences Graduation Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil
| | - Maurício Alves Loureiro
- PhD, Department of Instruments and Singing, School of Music, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil
| | - Paulo Caramelli
- MD, PhD. Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Research Group, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil
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168
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Marie C, Delogu F, Lampis G, Belardinelli MO, Besson M. Influence of musical expertise on segmental and tonal processing in Mandarin Chinese. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 23:2701-15. [PMID: 20946053 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2010.21585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
A same-different task was used to test the hypothesis that musical expertise improves the discrimination of tonal and segmental (consonant, vowel) variations in a tone language, Mandarin Chinese. Two four-word sequences (prime and target) were presented to French musicians and nonmusicians unfamiliar with Mandarin, and event-related brain potentials were recorded. Musicians detected both tonal and segmental variations more accurately than nonmusicians. Moreover, tonal variations were associated with higher error rate than segmental variations and elicited an increased N2/N3 component that developed 100 msec earlier in musicians than in nonmusicians. Finally, musicians also showed enhanced P3b components to both tonal and segmental variations. These results clearly show that musical expertise influenced the perceptual processing as well as the categorization of linguistic contrasts in a foreign language. They show positive music-to-language transfer effects and open new perspectives for the learning of tone languages.
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169
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Acoustic experience but not attention modifies neural population phase expressed in human primary auditory cortex. Hear Res 2010; 269:81-94. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2010.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2010] [Revised: 06/07/2010] [Accepted: 07/05/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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170
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Involuntary switching of attention mediates differences in event-related responses to complex tones between early and late Spanish-English bilinguals. Brain Res 2010; 1362:78-92. [PMID: 20849832 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2010] [Revised: 09/03/2010] [Accepted: 09/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most research with bilinguals has used speech stimuli to demonstrate differences in auditory processing abilities. Two main factors have been identified as modulators of such differences: proficiency and age of acquisition of the second language (L2). However, whether the bilingual brain differs from the monolingual in the efficient processing of non-verbal auditory events (known to be critical to the acoustic analysis of the speech stream) remains unclear. In this EEG/ERP study, using the mismatch negativity (MMN), P3a, and late negativity (LN), we examined differences in discrimination, involuntary switching of attention and reorienting of attention between monolinguals and bilinguals as they processed complex tones. Further, we examined the role that age of acquisition plays in modulating such responses. A group of English monolinguals and a group of proficient Spanish-English bilinguals were presented with a multiple-deviant oddball paradigm with four deviant conditions (duration, frequency, silent gap, and frequency modulation). Late bilinguals, who learned English after age 10, exhibited larger MMN and P3a responses than early bilinguals, across all deviant conditions. Significant associations were found between amplitude of the responses and both age of L2 acquisition and years of L2 experience. Individuals who acquired English at later ages and had fewer years of L2 experience had larger MMN, P3a, and LN responses than those who learned it earlier. These findings demonstrate that age of L2 acquisition is an important modulator of auditory responses in bilinguals even when processing non-speech signals. Involuntary attention switching is suggested as the main factor driving these differences.
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171
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Schochat E, Musiek F, Alonso R, Ogata J. Effect of auditory training on the middle latency response in children with (central) auditory processing disorder. Braz J Med Biol Res 2010; 43:777-85. [PMID: 20658093 DOI: 10.1590/s0100-879x2010007500069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2009] [Accepted: 06/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - J. Ogata
- Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil
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172
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Wallentin M, Nielsen AH, Friis-Olivarius M, Vuust C, Vuust P. The Musical Ear Test, a new reliable test for measuring musical competence. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2010.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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173
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Alonso R, Schochat E. The efficacy of formal auditory training in children with (central) auditory processing disorder: behavioral and electrophysiological evaluation. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol 2010; 75:726-32. [PMID: 19893943 PMCID: PMC9442236 DOI: 10.1016/s1808-8694(15)30525-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2008] [Accepted: 08/13/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Long Latency Auditory Evoked Potentials can be used to monitor changes in the Central Auditory Nervous System after Auditory Training. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Auditory Training in children with (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder, comparing behavioral and electrophysiological findings before and after training. Materials and Methods twenty nine individuals between eight and 16 years of age with (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder - diagnosed by behavioral tests - were involved in this research. After evaluation with the P300, the subjects were submitted to an Auditory Training program in acoustic booth and, at the end, a new evaluation of (central) auditory processing and a new recording of P300. Results The comparison between the evaluations made before and after the Auditory Training showed that there was a statistically significant difference among P300 latency values and also among behavioral test mean values in evaluation of (central) auditory processing. Conclusion P300 appears to be a useful tool to monitor Central Auditory Nervous System changes after Auditory Training, and this program was effective in the rehabilitation of the auditory skills in children with (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder.
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174
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Tremblay KL, Inoue K, McClannahan K, Ross B. Repeated stimulus exposure alters the way sound is encoded in the human brain. PLoS One 2010; 5:e10283. [PMID: 20421969 PMCID: PMC2858650 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2009] [Accepted: 03/12/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory training programs are being developed to remediate various types of communication disorders. Biological changes have been shown to coincide with improved perception following auditory training so there is interest in determining if these changes represent biologic markers of auditory learning. Here we examine the role of stimulus exposure and listening tasks, in the absence of training, on the modulation of evoked brain activity. Twenty adults were divided into two groups and exposed to two similar sounding speech syllables during four electrophysiological recording sessions (24 hours, one week, and up to one year later). In between each session, members of one group were asked to identify each stimulus. Both groups showed enhanced neural activity from session-to-session, in the same P2 latency range previously identified as being responsive to auditory training. The enhancement effect was most pronounced over temporal-occipital scalp regions and largest for the group who participated in the identification task. The effects were rapid and long-lasting with enhanced synchronous activity persisting months after the last auditory experience. Physiological changes did not coincide with perceptual changes so results are interpreted to mean stimulus exposure, with and without being paired with an identification task, alters the way sound is processed in the brain. The cumulative effect likely involves auditory memory; however, in the absence of training, the observed physiological changes are insufficient to result in changes in learned behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly L Tremblay
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
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175
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Detection of pitch violations depends upon the familiarity of intonational contour of sentences. Cortex 2010; 47:557-68. [PMID: 20451179 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2010.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2009] [Revised: 03/11/2010] [Accepted: 03/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Former studies have shown that a pitch change in utterances in speech was detected accurately in both native (French) and unfamiliar (Portuguese) language and produced an early negativity and a late positivity in the event-related brain potentials (ERPs), more clearly marked in the native language (Schön et al., 2004; Marques et al., 2007). The present study used the same design to further investigate the influence of the familiarity of the language context on pitch perception with Italian participants. The aim was to examine the effects of pitch change in the native (Italian) and foreign (French) languages, and in meaningless sentences preserving the intonational contour of the mother tongue (jabberwocky). METHOD Weak and strong pitch changes incongruous with the preceding context were compared to a control congruous condition. Participants had to decide as fast and as accurately as possible if they perceived a pitch change. Both behavioral (accuracy and reaction times - RTs) and ERP measures were analyzed. RESULTS Results showed optimal accuracy and faster RTs in Italian, followed by jabberwocky, and then French. The same trend was present in ERP data, with an early negativity over temporal sites and a late positivity over parietal sites. These effects developed earlier and were more pronounced for the strong incongruity in Italian and in jabberwocky than in French. CONCLUSIONS The similarity of results for Italian (congruous) and jabberwocky sentences on one hand, and the difference of results for French sentences, on the other hand, show that familiarity with intonational contour of utterances/speech provided essential cues to perform the task.
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176
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Measurement of brain function in pre-school children using a custom sized whole-head MEG sensor array. Clin Neurophysiol 2010; 121:340-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2009.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2009] [Revised: 10/20/2009] [Accepted: 10/31/2009] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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177
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Oechslin MS, Imfeld A, Loenneker T, Meyer M, Jäncke L. The plasticity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus as a function of musical expertise: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Front Hum Neurosci 2010; 3:76. [PMID: 20161812 PMCID: PMC2821183 DOI: 10.3389/neuro.09.076.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2009] [Accepted: 12/23/2009] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that musical expertise leads to functional alterations in language processing. We utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter plasticity in musicians with absolute pitch (AP), relative pitch and non-musicians. Using DTI, we analysed the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), which is considered the most primary pathway for processing and production of speech and music. In association with different levels of musical expertise, we found that AP is characterized by a greater left than right asymmetry of FA in core fibres of the SLF. A voxel-based analysis revealed three clusters within the left hemisphere SLF that showed significant positive correlations with error rates only for AP-musicians in an AP-test, but not for musicians without AP. We therefore conclude that the SLF architecture in AP musicians is related to AP acuity. In order to reconcile our observations with general aspects of development of fibre bundles, we introduce the Pioneer Axon Thesis, a theoretical approach to formalize axonal arrangements of major white matter pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias S. Oechslin
- Department of Neuropsychology, Division of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Imfeld
- Department of Neuropsychology, Division of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Loenneker
- MR-Center, University Children's Hospital of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
- Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Meyer
- Department of Neuropsychology, Division of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Department of Neuropsychology, Division of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
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178
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Mutschler I, Wieckhorst B, Speck O, Schulze-Bonhage A, Hennig J, Seifritz E, Ball T. Time scales of auditory habituation in the amygdala and cerebral cortex. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 20:2531-9. [PMID: 20118185 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Habituation is a fundamental form of learning manifested by a decrement of neuronal responses to repeated sensory stimulation. In addition, habituation is also known to occur on the behavioral level, manifested by reduced emotional reactions to repeatedly presented affective stimuli. It is, however, not clear which brain areas show a decline in activity during repeated sensory stimulation on the same time scale as reduced valence and arousal experience and whether these areas can be delineated from other brain areas with habituation effects on faster or slower time scales. These questions were addressed using functional magnetic resonance imaging acquired during repeated stimulation with piano melodies. The magnitude of functional responses in the laterobasal amygdala and in related cortical areas and that of valence and arousal ratings, given after each music presentation, declined in parallel over the experiment. In contrast to this long-term habituation (43 min), short-term decreases occurring within seconds were found in the primary auditory cortex. Sustained responses that remained throughout the whole investigated time period were detected in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex extending to the dorsal part of the anterior insular cortex. These findings identify an amygdalocortical network that forms the potential basis of affective habituation in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Mutschler
- Department of Psychology, NCCR sesam, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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179
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Zhu W, Zhang J, Ding X, Zhou C, Ma Y, Xu D. Crossmodal effects of Guqin and piano music on selective attention: An event-related potential study. Neurosci Lett 2009; 466:21-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.09.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2009] [Revised: 09/06/2009] [Accepted: 09/11/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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180
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Shahin AJ, Trainor LJ, Roberts LE, Backer KC, Miller LM. Development of auditory phase-locked activity for music sounds. J Neurophysiol 2009; 103:218-29. [PMID: 19864443 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00402.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The auditory cortex undergoes functional and anatomical development that reflects specialization for learned sounds. In humans, auditory maturation is evident in transient auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) elicited by speech or music. However, neural oscillations at specific frequencies are also known to play an important role in perceptual processing. We hypothesized that, if oscillatory activity in different frequency bands reflects different aspects of sound processing, the development of phase-locking to stimulus attributes at these frequencies may have different trajectories. We examined the development of phase-locking of oscillatory responses to music sounds and to pure tones matched to the fundamental frequency of the music sounds. Phase-locking for theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-14 Hz), lower-to-mid beta (14-25 Hz), and upper-beta and gamma (25-70 Hz) bands strengthened with age. Phase-locking in the upper-beta and gamma range matured later than in lower frequencies and was stronger for music sounds than for pure tones, likely reflecting the maturation of neural networks that code spectral complexity. Phase-locking for theta, alpha, and lower-to-mid beta was sensitive to temporal onset (rise time) sound characteristics. The data were also consistent with phase-locked oscillatory effects of acoustic (spectrotemporal) complexity and timbre familiarity. Future studies are called for to evaluate developmental trajectories for oscillatory activity, using stimuli selected to address hypotheses related to familiarity and spectral and temporal encoding suggested by the current findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine J Shahin
- Eye and Ear Institute and Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Ohio State University, 915 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
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181
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Abstract
Music is becoming more and more of an issue in the cognitive neurosciences. A major finding in this research area is that musical practice is associated with structural and functional plasticity of the brain. In this brief review, I will give an overview of the most recent findings of this research area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lutz Jäncke
- Division of Neuropsychology, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050 Zürich Switzerland.
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182
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Kraus N, Skoe E, Parbery-Clark A, Ashley R. Experience-induced malleability in neural encoding of pitch, timbre, and timing. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009; 1169:543-57. [PMID: 19673837 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04549.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Speech and music are highly complex signals that have many shared acoustic features. Pitch, Timbre, and Timing can be used as overarching perceptual categories for describing these shared properties. The acoustic cues contributing to these percepts also have distinct subcortical representations which can be selectively enhanced or degraded in different populations. Musically trained subjects are found to have enhanced subcortical representations of pitch, timbre, and timing. The effects of musical experience on subcortical auditory processing are pervasive and extend beyond music to the domains of language and emotion. The sensory malleability of the neural encoding of pitch, timbre, and timing can be affected by lifelong experience and short-term training. This conceptual framework and supporting data can be applied to consider sensory learning of speech and music through a hearing aid or cochlear implant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Kraus
- Auditory Neuroscience Lab, Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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183
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Abstract
In the neuroscience of music, musicians have traditionally been treated as a unified group, as if the demands set by their musical activities would be more or less equal in terms of perceptual, cognitive, and motor functions. However, obviously, their musical preferences differentiate them to a higher degree, for instance, in terms of the instrument they choose and the music genre they are mostly engaged with as well as their practicing style. This diversity in musicians' profiles has been recently taken into account in several empirical endeavors. The present contribution will review the evidence available about the various neurocognitive profiles these different kinds of musicians display.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mari Tervaniemi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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184
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Howd RA. Considering changes in exposure and sensitivity in an early life cumulative risk assessment. Int J Toxicol 2009; 29:71-7. [PMID: 19710296 DOI: 10.1177/1091581809344436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A cumulative risk assessment is generally intended to address concurrent exposure by all exposure routes to a group of chemicals that share a common mechanism of toxicity. However, the contribution of different exposure routes will change over time. This is most critical when estimating risks to infants and children because their exposure sources change rapidly during the first few years of life because of dietary and behavioral changes. In addition, there may be changes in sensitivity to toxicants during this time period, associated with various developmental stages. Traditional risk assessments do not address this progression. Examples of how these factors might be incorporated into an early life risk assessment are provided for lead, dioxins and furans, and organophosphate pesticides. The same concepts may apply to other potentially susceptible subpopulations, such as the elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Howd
- Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, CA 94612, USA.
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185
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Marin MM. Effects of Early Musical Training on Musical and Linguistic Syntactic Abilities. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009; 1169:187-90. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04777.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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186
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187
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Pantev C, Lappe C, Herholz SC, Trainor L. Auditory-Somatosensory Integration and Cortical Plasticity in Musical Training. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009; 1169:143-50. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04588.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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188
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Abstract
The human brain has the remarkable capacity to alter in response to environmental demands. Training-induced structural brain changes have been demonstrated in the healthy adult human brain. However, no study has yet directly related structural brain changes to behavioral changes in the developing brain, addressing the question of whether structural brain differences seen in adults (comparing experts with matched controls) are a product of "nature" (via biological brain predispositions) or "nurture" (via early training). Long-term instrumental music training is an intense, multisensory, and motor experience and offers an ideal opportunity to study structural brain plasticity in the developing brain in correlation with behavioral changes induced by training. Here we demonstrate structural brain changes after only 15 months of musical training in early childhood, which were correlated with improvements in musically relevant motor and auditory skills. These findings shed light on brain plasticity and suggest that structural brain differences in adult experts (whether musicians or experts in other areas) are likely due to training-induced brain plasticity.
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189
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Abstract
The human brain has the remarkable capacity to alter in response to environmental demands. Training-induced structural brain changes have been demonstrated in the healthy adult human brain. However, no study has yet directly related structural brain changes to behavioral changes in the developing brain, addressing the question of whether structural brain differences seen in adults (comparing experts with matched controls) are a product of "nature" (via biological brain predispositions) or "nurture" (via early training). Long-term instrumental music training is an intense, multisensory, and motor experience and offers an ideal opportunity to study structural brain plasticity in the developing brain in correlation with behavioral changes induced by training. Here we demonstrate structural brain changes after only 15 months of musical training in early childhood, which were correlated with improvements in musically relevant motor and auditory skills. These findings shed light on brain plasticity and suggest that structural brain differences in adult experts (whether musicians or experts in other areas) are likely due to training-induced brain plasticity.
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190
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Margulis EH, Mlsna LM, Uppunda AK, Parrish TB, Wong PCM. Selective neurophysiologic responses to music in instrumentalists with different listening biographies. Hum Brain Mapp 2009; 30:267-75. [PMID: 18072277 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
To appropriately adapt to constant sensory stimulation, neurons in the auditory system are tuned to various acoustic characteristics, such as center frequencies, frequency modulations, and their combinations, particularly those combinations that carry species-specific communicative functions. The present study asks whether such tunings extend beyond acoustic and communicative functions to auditory self-relevance and expertise. More specifically, we examined the role of the listening biography--an individual's long term experience with a particular type of auditory input--on perceptual-neural plasticity. Two groups of expert instrumentalists (violinists and flutists) listened to matched musical excerpts played on the two instruments (J.S. Bach Partitas for solo violin and flute) while their cerebral hemodynamic responses were measured using fMRI. Our experimental design allowed for a comprehensive investigation of the neurophysiology (cerebral hemodynamic responses as measured by fMRI) of auditory expertise (i.e., when violinists listened to violin music and when flutists listened to flute music) and nonexpertise (i.e., when subjects listened to music played on the other instrument). We found an extensive cerebral network of expertise, which implicates increased sensitivity to musical syntax (BA 44), timbre (auditory association cortex), and sound-motor interactions (precentral gyrus) when listening to music played on the instrument of expertise (the instrument for which subjects had a unique listening biography). These findings highlight auditory self-relevance and expertise as a mechanism of perceptual-neural plasticity, and implicate neural tuning that includes and extends beyond acoustic and communication-relevant structures.
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191
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Herholz SC, Lappe C, Knief A, Pantev C. Neural basis of music imagery and the effect of musical expertise. Eur J Neurosci 2009; 28:2352-60. [PMID: 19046375 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06515.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Although the influence of long-term musical training on the processing of heard music has been the subject of many studies, the neural basis of music imagery and the effect of musical expertise remain insufficiently understood. By means of magnetoencephalography (MEG) we compared musicians and nonmusicians in a musical imagery task with familiar melodies. Subjects listened to the beginnings of the melodies, continued them in their imagination and then heard a tone which was either a correct or an incorrect further continuation of the melody. Only in musicians was the imagery of these melodies strong enough to elicit an early preattentive brain response to unexpected incorrect continuations of the imagined melodies; this response, the imagery mismatch negativity (iMMN), peaked approximately 175 ms after tone onset and was right-lateralized. In contrast to previous studies the iMMN was not based on a heard but on a purely imagined memory trace. Our results suggest that in trained musicians imagery and perception rely on similar neuronal correlates, and that the musicians' intense musical training has modified this network to achieve a superior ability for imagery and preattentive processing of music.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sibylle C Herholz
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Malmedyweg 15, D-48149 Münster, Germany
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192
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Abstract
The comorbidity of 'core characteristics' and sensorimotor abnormalities in autism implies abnormalities in brain development of a general and pervasive nature and atypical organization of sensory cortex. By using magnetoencephalography, we examined the cortical response to passive tactile stimulation of the thumb and index finger of the dominant hand and lip of the individuals with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing persons. The distance between the cortical representations of thumb and the lip was significantly larger in the autism group than in typicals. Moreover, in cortex, the thumb is typically closer to the lip than the index finger. This was not observed in persons with autism. Our findings are arguably the first demonstration of abnormality in sensory organization in the brains of persons with autism.
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193
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Foxton JM, Weisz N, Bauchet-Lecaignard F, Delpuech C, Bertrand O. The neural bases underlying pitch processing difficulties. Neuroimage 2009; 45:1305-13. [PMID: 19349242 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.10.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2008] [Revised: 09/30/2008] [Accepted: 10/10/2008] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Normal listeners are often surprisingly poor at processing pitch changes. The neural bases of this difficulty were explored using magnetoencephalography (MEG) by comparing participants who obtained poor thresholds on a pitch-direction task with those who obtained good thresholds. Source-space projected data revealed that during an active listening task, the poor threshold group displayed greater activity in the left auditory cortical region when determining the direction of small pitch glides, whereas there was no difference in the good threshold group. In a passive listening task, a mismatch response (MMNm) was identified for pitch-glide direction deviants, with a tendency to be smaller in the poor listeners. The results imply that the difficulties in pitch processing are already apparent during automatic sound processing, and furthermore suggest that left hemisphere auditory regions are used by these listeners to consciously determine the direction of a pitch change. This is in line with evidence that the left hemisphere has a poor frequency resolution, and implies that normal listeners may use the sub-optimal hemisphere to process pitch changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M Foxton
- INSERM U821, Lyon 1 University, Brain Dynamics and Cognition laboratory, Lyon, F-69500, France
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194
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Song JH, Skoe E, Wong PCM, Kraus N. Plasticity in the adult human auditory brainstem following short-term linguistic training. J Cogn Neurosci 2008; 20:1892-902. [PMID: 18370594 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2008.20131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Peripheral and central structures along the auditory pathway contribute to speech processing and learning. However, because speech requires the use of functionally and acoustically complex sounds which necessitates high sensory and cognitive demands, long-term exposure and experience using these sounds is often attributed to the neocortex with little emphasis placed on subcortical structures. The present study examines changes in the auditory brainstem, specifically the frequency following response (FFR), as native English-speaking adults learn to incorporate foreign speech sounds (lexical pitch patterns) in word identification. The FFR presumably originates from the auditory midbrain and can be elicited preattentively. We measured FFRs to the trained pitch patterns before and after training. Measures of pitch tracking were then derived from the FFR signals. We found increased accuracy in pitch tracking after training, including a decrease in the number of pitch-tracking errors and a refinement in the energy devoted to encoding pitch. Most interestingly, this change in pitch-tracking accuracy only occurred in the most acoustically complex pitch contour (dipping contour), which is also the least familiar to our English-speaking subjects. These results not only demonstrate the contribution of the brainstem in language learning and its plasticity in adulthood but also demonstrate the specificity of this contribution (i.e., changes in encoding only occur in specific, least familiar stimuli, not all stimuli). Our findings complement existing data showing cortical changes after second-language learning, and are consistent with models suggesting that brainstem changes resulting from perceptual learning are most apparent when acuity in encoding is most needed.
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195
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Abstract
Learning to play a musical instrument requires complex multimodal skills involving simultaneous perception of several sensory modalities: auditory, visual, somatosensory, as well as the motor system. Therefore, musical training provides a good and adequate neuroscientific model to study multimodal brain plasticity effects in humans. Here, we investigated the impact of short-term unimodal and multimodal musical training on brain plasticity. Two groups of nonmusicians were musically trained over the course of 2 weeks. One group [sensorimotor-auditory (SA)] learned to play a musical sequence on the piano, whereas the other group [auditory (A)] listened to and made judgments about the music that had been played by participants of the sensorimotor-auditory group. Training-induced cortical plasticity was assessed by recording the musically elicited mismatch negativity (MMNm) from magnetoencephalographic measurements before and after training. SA and A groups showed significantly different cortical responses after training. Specifically, the SA group showed significant enlargement of MMNm after training compared with the A group, reflecting greater enhancement of musical representations in auditory cortex after sensorimotor-auditory training compared with after mere auditory training. Thus, we have experimentally demonstrated that not only are sensorimotor and auditory systems connected, but also that sensorimotor-auditory training causes plastic reorganizational changes in the auditory cortex over and above changes introduced by auditory training alone.
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196
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Moreno S, Marques C, Santos A, Santos M, Castro SL, Besson M. Musical training influences linguistic abilities in 8-year-old children: more evidence for brain plasticity. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 19:712-23. [PMID: 18832336 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
We conducted a longitudinal study with 32 nonmusician children over 9 months to determine 1) whether functional differences between musician and nonmusician children reflect specific predispositions for music or result from musical training and 2) whether musical training improves nonmusical brain functions such as reading and linguistic pitch processing. Event-related brain potentials were recorded while 8-year-old children performed tasks designed to test the hypothesis that musical training improves pitch processing not only in music but also in speech. Following the first testing sessions nonmusician children were pseudorandomly assigned to music or to painting training for 6 months and were tested again after training using the same tests. After musical (but not painting) training, children showed enhanced reading and pitch discrimination abilities in speech. Remarkably, 6 months of musical training thus suffices to significantly improve behavior and to influence the development of neural processes as reflected in specific pattern of brain waves. These results reveal positive transfer from music to speech and highlight the influence of musical training. Finally, they demonstrate brain plasticity in showing that relatively short periods of training have strong consequences on the functional organization of the children's brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Moreno
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, CNRS-Marseille-Universités, Marseille, France
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197
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Shahin AJ, Roberts LE, Chau W, Trainor LJ, Miller LM. Music training leads to the development of timbre-specific gamma band activity. Neuroimage 2008; 41:113-22. [PMID: 18375147 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.01.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2007] [Revised: 01/20/2008] [Accepted: 01/28/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Oscillatory gamma band activity (GBA, 30-100 Hz) has been shown to correlate with perceptual and cognitive phenomena including feature binding, template matching, and learning and memory formation. We hypothesized that if GBA reflects highly learned perceptual template matching, we should observe its development in musicians specific to the timbre of their instrument of practice. EEG was recorded in adult professional violinists and amateur pianists as well as in 4- and 5-year-old children studying piano in the Suzuki method before they commenced music lessons and 1 year later. The adult musicians showed robust enhancement of induced (non-time-locked) GBA, specifically to their instrument of practice, with the strongest effect in professional violinists. Consistent with this result, the children receiving piano lessons exhibited increased power of induced GBA for piano tones with 1 year of training, while children not taking lessons showed no effect. In comparison to induced GBA, evoked (time-locked) gamma band activity (30-90 Hz, approximately 80 ms latency) was present only in adult groups. Evoked GBA was more pronounced in musicians than non-musicians, with synchronization equally exhibited for violin and piano tones but enhanced for these tones compared to pure tones. Evoked gamma activity may index the physical properties of a sound and is modulated by acoustical training, while induced GBA may reflect higher perceptual learning and is shaped by specific auditory experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine J Shahin
- University of California, Davis Center for Mind and Brain, 267 Cousteau Place, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
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198
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Fujioka T, Ross B. Auditory processing indexed by stimulus-induced alpha desynchronization in children. Int J Psychophysiol 2008; 68:130-40. [PMID: 18331761 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2007] [Revised: 10/22/2007] [Accepted: 12/03/2007] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
By means of magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated event-related synchronization and desynchronization (ERS/ERD) in auditory cortex activity, recorded from twelve children aged four to six years, while they passively listened to a violin tone and a noise-burst stimulus. Time-frequency analysis using Wavelet Transform was applied to single-trials of source waveforms observed from left and right auditory cortices. Stimulus-induced changes in non-phase-locked activities were evident. ERS in the beta range (13-30 Hz) lasted only for 100 ms after stimulus onset. This was followed by prominent alpha ERD, which showed a clear dissociation between the upper (12 Hz) and lower (8 Hz) alpha range in both left and right auditory cortices for both stimuli. The time courses of the alpha ERD (onset around 300 ms, peak at 500 ms, offset after 1500 ms) were similar to those previously found for older children and adults with auditory memory related tasks. For the violin tone only, the ERD lasted longer in the upper than the lower alpha band. The findings suggest that induced alpha ERD indexes auditory stimulus processing in children without specific cognitive task requirement. The left auditory cortex showed a larger and longer-lasting upper alpha ERD than did the right auditory cortex, likely reflecting hemispheric differences in maturational stages of neural oscillatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takako Fujioka
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, University of Toronto, Canada.
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199
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Zhu W, Zhao L, Zhang J, Ding X, Liu H, Ni E, Ma Y, Zhou C. The influence of Mozart's sonata K.448 on visual attention: an ERPs study. Neurosci Lett 2008; 434:35-40. [PMID: 18280658 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.01.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2007] [Revised: 01/06/2008] [Accepted: 01/08/2008] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, the effects of Mozart's sonata K.448 on voluntary and involuntary attention were investigated by recording and analyzing behavioral and event-related potentials (ERPs) data in a three-stimulus visual oddball task. P3a (related to involuntary attention) and P3b (related to voluntary attention) were analyzed. The "Mozart effect" was showed on ERP but not on behavioral data. This study replicated the previous results of Mozart effect on voluntary attention: the P3b latency was influenced by Mozart's sonata K.448. But no change of P3a latency was induced by this music. At the same time, decreased P3a and P3b amplitudes in music condition were found. We interpret this change as positive "Mozart effect" on involuntary attention (P3a) and negative "Mozart effect" on voluntary attention (P3b). We conclude that Mozart's sonata K.448 has shown certain effects on both involuntary attention and voluntary attention in our study, but their effects work on different mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weina Zhu
- Mind, Art and Computation Lab, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, School of Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
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Hannon EE, Trainor LJ. Music acquisition: effects of enculturation and formal training on development. Trends Cogn Sci 2007; 11:466-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2007.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 251] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2007] [Revised: 08/03/2007] [Accepted: 08/03/2007] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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