1
|
Silva LB, Phillips M, Martins JO. The influence of tonality, tempo, and musical sophistication on the listener's time-duration estimates. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023:17470218231203459. [PMID: 37706292 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231203459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Music listening affects time perception, with previous studies suggesting that a variety of factors may influence this: musical, individual, and environmental. Two experiments investigated the effect of musical factors (tonality and musical tempo) and individual factors (a listener's level of musical sophistication) on subjective estimates of duration. Participants estimated the duration of different versions of newly composed instrumental music stimuli under retrospective and prospective conditions. Stimuli varied in tempo (90-120 bpm) and tonality (tonal-atonal), in a 2 × 2 factorial design, while other musical parameters remained constant. Estimates were made using written estimates of minutes and seconds in Experiment 1, and the reproduction method in Experiment 2. Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) showed no main effect of tonality on estimates and no significant interactions between tempo and tonality, under any condition. Musical tempo significantly affected estimates, with the faster tempo leading to longer estimates, but only in the prospective condition, and with the use of the reproduction method. Correlation matrices using the Pearson correlation coefficient found no correlation between musical sophistication scores (measured using the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index [Gold-MSI]) and verbal or reproduction estimates. In conclusion, together with the existing literature, findings suggest that (1) changes in tonality, without further changes in rhythm, metre, or melodic contour, do not significantly affect estimates; (2) small changes in musical tempo influence only prospective reproduction estimates, with larger tempo differences or longer stimuli being needed to cause changes in retrospective estimates; (3) participants' level of musical sophistication does not impact estimates of musical duration; and (4) empirical research on music listening and subjective time must consider potential method-dependent results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ligia Borges Silva
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies (CEIS20), Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | | | - José Oliveira Martins
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies (CEIS20), Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Duan J, Ouyang H, Lu Y, Li L, Liu Y, Feng Z, Zhang W, Zheng L. Neural dynamics underlying the processing of implicit form-meaning connections: The dissociative roles of theta and alpha oscillations. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 186:10-23. [PMID: 36702353 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Implicit learning plays an important role in the language acquisition. In addition to helping people acquire the form-level rules (e.g., the word order regularities), implicit learning can also facilitate the acquisition of word meanings (i.e., the establishment of connections between the word form and its meanings). Although some behavioral studies have explored the processing of implicit form-meaning connections, the neural dynamics underlying this processing remains unclear. Through examining whether participants could implicitly acquire the literal and metaphorical meanings of novel words, and applying the time-frequency analysis on the electroencephalogram (EEG) data collected in the testing phase, the neural oscillations corresponding to the processing of implicit form-literal and form-metaphorical meaning connections were explored. The results showed that participants in the experimental group could implicitly acquire the form-literal and form-metaphorical meaning connections after training, while participants in the control group who were not trained did not have access to such form-meaning connections. Meanwhile, during the processing of form-literal meaning connections, the greater suppression of alpha oscillations was induced by the testing items that follow the same rules as the training items (i.e., the regular testing items) in the experimental group, whereas the stronger enhancement of theta oscillations was elicited by the regular testing items in the experimental group during the processing of form-metaphorical meaning connections. Our study provides insights for understanding the processing of implicit form-literal and form-metaphorical meaning connections and the neural dynamics underlying the processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jipeng Duan
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Ouyang
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Lab for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China; The Emotion & Cognition Lab, Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Lu
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan university, Shanghai, China
| | - Lin Li
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuting Liu
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengning Feng
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Weidong Zhang
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Li Zheng
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan university, Shanghai, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lukics KS, Lukács Á. Modality, presentation, domain and training effects in statistical learning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20878. [PMID: 36463280 PMCID: PMC9719496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24951-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
While several studies suggest that the nature and properties of the input have significant effects on statistical learning, they have rarely been investigated systematically. In order to understand how input characteristics and their interactions impact statistical learning, we explored the effects of modality (auditory vs. visual), presentation type (serial vs. simultaneous), domain (linguistic vs. non-linguistic), and training type (random, starting small, starting big) on artificial grammar learning in young adults (N = 360). With serial presentation of stimuli, learning was more effective in the auditory than in the visual modality. However, with simultaneous presentation of visual and serial presentation of auditory stimuli, the modality effect was not present. We found a significant domain effect as well: a linguistic advantage over nonlinguistic material, which was driven by the domain effect in the auditory modality. Overall, the auditory linguistic condition had an advantage over other modality-domain types. Training types did not have any overall effect on learning; starting big enhanced performance only in the case of serial visual presentation. These results show that input characteristics such as modality, presentation type, domain and training type influence statistical learning, and suggest that their effects are also dependent on the specific stimuli and structure to be learned.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Krisztina Sára Lukics
- grid.6759.d0000 0001 2180 0451Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., H-1111 Budapest, Hungary ,grid.5018.c0000 0001 2149 4407MTA-BME Momentum Language Acquisition Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ágnes Lukács
- grid.6759.d0000 0001 2180 0451Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., H-1111 Budapest, Hungary ,grid.5018.c0000 0001 2149 4407MTA-BME Momentum Language Acquisition Research Group, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kern P, Heilbron M, de Lange FP, Spaak E. Cortical activity during naturalistic music listening reflects short-range predictions based on long-term experience. eLife 2022; 11:80935. [PMID: 36562532 PMCID: PMC9836393 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Expectations shape our experience of music. However, the internal model upon which listeners form melodic expectations is still debated. Do expectations stem from Gestalt-like principles or statistical learning? If the latter, does long-term experience play an important role, or are short-term regularities sufficient? And finally, what length of context informs contextual expectations? To answer these questions, we presented human listeners with diverse naturalistic compositions from Western classical music, while recording neural activity using MEG. We quantified note-level melodic surprise and uncertainty using various computational models of music, including a state-of-the-art transformer neural network. A time-resolved regression analysis revealed that neural activity over fronto-temporal sensors tracked melodic surprise particularly around 200ms and 300-500ms after note onset. This neural surprise response was dissociated from sensory-acoustic and adaptation effects. Neural surprise was best predicted by computational models that incorporated long-term statistical learning-rather than by simple, Gestalt-like principles. Yet, intriguingly, the surprise reflected primarily short-range musical contexts of less than ten notes. We present a full replication of our novel MEG results in an openly available EEG dataset. Together, these results elucidate the internal model that shapes melodic predictions during naturalistic music listening.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pius Kern
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Micha Heilbron
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Floris P de Lange
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourNijmegenNetherlands
| | - Eelke Spaak
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourNijmegenNetherlands
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Despite the remarkable variability music displays across cultures, certain recurrent musical features motivate the hypothesis that fundamental cognitive principles constrain the way music is produced. One such feature concerns the structure of musical scales. The vast majority of musical cultures use scales that are not uniformly symmetric-that is, scales that contain notes spread unevenly across the octave. Here we present evidence that the structure of musical scales has a substantial impact on how listeners learn new musical systems. Three experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that nonuniformity facilitates the processing of melodies. Novel melodic stimuli were composed based on artificial grammars using scales with different levels of symmetry. Experiment 1 tested the acquisition of tonal hierarchies and melodic regularities on three different 12-tone equal-tempered scales using a finite-state grammar. Experiments 2 and 3 used more flexible Markov-chain grammars and were designed to generalize the effect to 14-tone and 16-tone equal-tempered scales. The results showed that performance was significantly enhanced by scale structures that specified the tonal space by providing unique intervallic relations between notes. These results suggest that the learning of novel musical systems is modulated by the symmetry of scales, which in turn may explain the prevalence of nonuniform scales across musical cultures.
Collapse
|
6
|
Pesnot Lerousseau J, Schön D. Musical Expertise Is Associated with Improved Neural Statistical Learning in the Auditory Domain. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4877-4890. [PMID: 34013316 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
It is poorly known whether musical training is associated with improvements in general cognitive abilities, such as statistical learning (SL). In standard SL paradigms, musicians have shown better performances than nonmusicians. However, this advantage could be due to differences in auditory discrimination, in memory or truly in the ability to learn sequence statistics. Unfortunately, these different hypotheses make similar predictions in terms of expected results. To dissociate them, we developed a Bayesian model and recorded electroencephalography (EEG). Our results confirm that musicians perform approximately 15% better than nonmusicians at predicting items in auditory sequences that embed either low or high-order statistics. These higher performances are explained in the model by parameters governing the learning of high-order statistics and the selection stage noise. EEG recordings reveal a neural underpinning of the musician's advantage: the P300 amplitude correlates with the surprise elicited by each item, and so, more strongly for musicians. Finally, early EEG components correlate with the surprise elicited by low-order statistics, as opposed to late EEG components that correlate with the surprise elicited by high-order statistics and this effect is stronger for musicians. Overall, our results demonstrate that musical expertise is associated with improved neural SL in the auditory domain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It is poorly known whether musical training leads to improvements in general cognitive skills. One fundamental cognitive ability, SL, is thought to be enhanced in musicians, but previous studies have reported mixed results. This is because such musician's advantage can embrace very different explanations, such as improvement in auditory discrimination or in memory. To solve this problem, we developed a Bayesian model and recorded EEG to dissociate these explanations. Our results reveal that musical expertise is truly associated with an improved ability to learn sequence statistics, especially high-order statistics. This advantage is reflected in the electroencephalographic recordings, where the P300 amplitude is more sensitive to surprising items in musicians than in nonmusicians.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniele Schön
- Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Demany L, Monteiro G, Semal C, Shamma S, Carlyon RP. The perception of octave pitch affinity and harmonic fusion have a common origin. Hear Res 2021; 404:108213. [PMID: 33662686 PMCID: PMC7614450 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Musicians say that the pitches of tones with a frequency ratio of 2:1 (one octave) have a distinctive affinity, even if the tones do not have common spectral components. It has been suggested, however, that this affinity judgment has no biological basis and originates instead from an acculturation process ‒ the learning of musical rules unrelated to auditory physiology. We measured, in young amateur musicians, the perceptual detectability of octave mistunings for tones presented alternately (melodic condition) or simultaneously (harmonic condition). In the melodic condition, mistuning was detectable only by means of explicit pitch comparisons. In the harmonic condition, listeners could use a different and more efficient perceptual cue: in the absence of mistuning, the tones fused into a single sound percept; mistunings decreased fusion. Performance was globally better in the harmonic condition, in line with the hypothesis that listeners used a fusion cue in this condition; this hypothesis was also supported by results showing that an illusory simultaneity of the tones was much less advantageous than a real simultaneity. In the two conditions, mistuning detection was generally better for octave compressions than for octave stretchings. This asymmetry varied across listeners, but crucially the listener-specific asymmetries observed in the two conditions were highly correlated. Thus, the perception of the melodic octave appeared to be closely linked to the phenomenon of harmonic fusion. As harmonic fusion is thought to be determined by biological factors rather than factors related to musical culture or training, we argue that octave pitch affinity also has, at least in part, a biological basis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Demany
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, CNRS, EPHE, and Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
| | - Guilherme Monteiro
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, CNRS, EPHE, and Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Catherine Semal
- Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine, CNRS, EPHE, and Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Bordeaux INP, Bordeaux, France.
| | - Shihab Shamma
- Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States; Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
| | - Robert P Carlyon
- Cambridge Hearing Group, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Popescu T, Widdess R, Rohrmeier M. Western listeners detect boundary hierarchy in Indian music: a segmentation study. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3112. [PMID: 33542358 PMCID: PMC7862587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82629-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
How are listeners able to follow and enjoy complex pieces of music? Several theoretical frameworks suggest links between the process of listening and the formal structure of music, involving a division of the musical surface into structural units at multiple hierarchical levels. Whether boundaries between structural units are perceivable to listeners unfamiliar with the style, and are identified congruently between naïve listeners and experts, remains unclear. Here, we focused on the case of Indian music, and asked 65 Western listeners (of mixed levels of musical training; most unfamiliar with Indian music) to intuitively segment into phrases a recording of sitar ālāp of two different rāga-modes. Each recording was also segmented by two experts, who identified boundary regions at section and phrase levels. Participant- and region-wise scores were computed on the basis of "clicks" inside or outside boundary regions (hits/false alarms), inserted earlier or later within those regions (high/low "promptness"). We found substantial agreement-expressed as hit rates and click densities-among participants, and between participants' and experts' segmentations. The agreement and promptness scores differed between participants, levels, and recordings. We found no effect of musical training, but detected real-time awareness of grouping completion and boundary hierarchy. The findings may potentially be explained by underlying general bottom-up processes, implicit learning of structural relationships, cross-cultural musical similarities, or universal cognitive capacities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tudor Popescu
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, Universität Wien, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
- Medizinische Universität Wien, Spitalgasse 23, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Richard Widdess
- Department of Music, School of Arts, SOAS University of London, London, UK
| | - Martin Rohrmeier
- Centre for Music and Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Guillemin C, Tillmann B. Implicit learning of two artificial grammars. Cogn Process 2020; 22:141-150. [PMID: 33021732 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-020-00996-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the implicit learning of two artificial systems. Two finite-state grammars were implemented with the same tone set (leading to short melodies) and played by the same timbre in exposure and test phases. The grammars were presented in separate exposure phases, and potentially acquired knowledge was tested with two experimental tasks: a grammar categorization task (Experiment 1) and a grammatical error detection task (Experiment 2). Results showed that participants were able to categorize new items as belonging to one or the other grammar (Experiment 1) and detect grammatical errors in new sequences of each grammar (Experiment 2). Our findings suggest the capacity of intra-modal learning of regularities in the auditory modality and based on stimuli that share the same perceptual properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C Guillemin
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Bron, France
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Bron, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, 69000, France
| | - B Tillmann
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Bron, France.
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Bron, France.
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, 69000, France.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zioga I, Harrison PMC, Pearce MT, Bhattacharya J, Luft CDB. Auditory but Not Audiovisual Cues Lead to Higher Neural Sensitivity to the Statistical Regularities of an Unfamiliar Musical Style. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:2241-2259. [PMID: 32762519 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
It is still a matter of debate whether visual aids improve learning of music. In a multisession study, we investigated the neural signatures of novel music sequence learning with or without aids (auditory-only: AO, audiovisual: AV). During three training sessions on three separate days, participants (nonmusicians) reproduced (note by note on a keyboard) melodic sequences generated by an artificial musical grammar. The AV group (n = 20) had each note color-coded on screen, whereas the AO group (n = 20) had no color indication. We evaluated learning of the statistical regularities of the novel music grammar before and after training by presenting melodies ending on correct or incorrect notes and by asking participants to judge the correctness and surprisal of the final note, while EEG was recorded. We found that participants successfully learned the new grammar. Although the AV group, as compared to the AO group, reproduced longer sequences during training, there was no significant difference in learning between groups. At the neural level, after training, the AO group showed a larger N100 response to low-probability compared with high-probability notes, suggesting an increased neural sensitivity to statistical properties of the grammar; this effect was not observed in the AV group. Our findings indicate that visual aids might improve sequence reproduction while not necessarily promoting better learning, indicating a potential dissociation between sequence reproduction and learning. We suggest that the difficulty induced by auditory-only input during music training might enhance cognitive engagement, thereby improving neural sensitivity to the underlying statistical properties of the learned material.
Collapse
|
11
|
Phillips M, Stewart AJ, Wilcoxson JM, Jones LA, Howard E, Willcox P, du Sautoy M, De Roure D. What Determines the Perception of Segmentation in Contemporary Music? Front Psychol 2020; 11:1001. [PMID: 32547450 PMCID: PMC7270279 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study concerns the perception of musical segmentation during listening to live contemporary classical music. Little is known about how listeners form judgments of musical segments, particularly when typical section markers, such as cadences and fermatas, are absent [e.g., Sears et al. (2014)] or when the music is non-tonal (e.g., in much contemporary classical music). AIMS The current study aimed to examine the listeners' segmentation decisions in a piece of contemporary music, Ligeti's "Fanfares"? METHODS Data were gathered using a smartphone application [Practice & Research in Science & Music (PRiSM) Perception App] designed for this study by the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Centre for PRiSM and the Oxford e-Research Centre. A total of 259 audience participants were asked to "tap" when they felt that a section had ended. Subjective responses were captured, as well as contextual data about the participants. RESULTS The audience members demonstrated high levels of agreement regarding segmentation, mostly at places in the music involving breaks in the musical texture (one piano hand resting), changes in dynamic (volume), and changes in register/pitch. A sense of familiarity with contemporary repertoire did seem to influence the responses-the participants who self-reported being familiar with contemporary music used a wider range of cues to make their segmentation decisions. The self-report data analysis suggested that the listeners were not always aware of how they made decisions regarding segmentation. The factors which may influence their judgment of musical segmentation are, to some extent, similar to those identified by music analysis (Steinitz, 2011) but different in other ways. The effect of musical training was found to be quite small. CONCLUSION Whether musically trained and/or familiar with contemporary classical music or not, the listeners demonstrate commonalities in segmentation, which they are not always aware of. This study has implications for contemporary composers, performers, and audiences and how they engage with new music in particular.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew J. Stewart
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - J. Matthew Wilcoxson
- Oxford e-Research Centre, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Luke A. Jones
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Howard
- The Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Pip Willcox
- Oxford e-Research Centre, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Marcus du Sautoy
- Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - David De Roure
- Oxford e-Research Centre, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Di Liberto GM, Pelofi C, Bianco R, Patel P, Mehta AD, Herrero JL, de Cheveigné A, Shamma S, Mesgarani N. Cortical encoding of melodic expectations in human temporal cortex. eLife 2020; 9:e51784. [PMID: 32122465 PMCID: PMC7053998 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans engagement in music rests on underlying elements such as the listeners' cultural background and interest in music. These factors modulate how listeners anticipate musical events, a process inducing instantaneous neural responses as the music confronts these expectations. Measuring such neural correlates would represent a direct window into high-level brain processing. Here we recorded cortical signals as participants listened to Bach melodies. We assessed the relative contributions of acoustic versus melodic components of the music to the neural signal. Melodic features included information on pitch progressions and their tempo, which were extracted from a predictive model of musical structure based on Markov chains. We related the music to brain activity with temporal response functions demonstrating, for the first time, distinct cortical encoding of pitch and note-onset expectations during naturalistic music listening. This encoding was most pronounced at response latencies up to 350 ms, and in both planum temporale and Heschl's gyrus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni M Di Liberto
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d’études cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, CNRS75005 ParisFrance
| | - Claire Pelofi
- Department of Psychology, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Institut de Neurosciences des Système, UMR S 1106, INSERM, Aix Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
| | | | - Prachi Patel
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Ashesh D Mehta
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/NorthwellManhassetUnited States
- Feinstein Institute of Medical Research, Northwell HealthManhassetUnited States
| | - Jose L Herrero
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/NorthwellManhassetUnited States
- Feinstein Institute of Medical Research, Northwell HealthManhassetUnited States
| | - Alain de Cheveigné
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d’études cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, CNRS75005 ParisFrance
- UCL Ear InstituteLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Shihab Shamma
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d’études cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, CNRS75005 ParisFrance
- Institute for Systems Research, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of MarylandCollege ParkUnited States
| | - Nima Mesgarani
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Bianco R, Ptasczynski LE, Omigie D. Pupil responses to pitch deviants reflect predictability of melodic sequences. Brain Cogn 2020; 138:103621. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.103621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
14
|
Zioga I, Harrison PM, Pearce MT, Bhattacharya J, Di Bernardi Luft C. From learning to creativity: Identifying the behavioural and neural correlates of learning to predict human judgements of musical creativity. Neuroimage 2020; 206:116311. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
|
15
|
Bianco R, Gold BP, Johnson AP, Penhune VB. Music predictability and liking enhance pupil dilation and promote motor learning in non-musicians. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17060. [PMID: 31745159 PMCID: PMC6863863 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53510-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans can anticipate music and derive pleasure from it. Expectations facilitate the learning of movements associated with anticipated events, and they are also linked with reward, which may further facilitate learning of the anticipated rewarding events. The present study investigates the synergistic effects of predictability and hedonic responses to music on arousal and motor-learning in a naïve population. Novel melodies were manipulated in their overall predictability (predictable/unpredictable) as objectively defined by a model of music expectation, and ranked as high/medium/low liked based on participants' self-reports collected during an initial listening session. During this session, we also recorded ocular pupil size as an implicit measure of listeners' arousal. During the following motor task, participants learned to play target notes of the melodies on a keyboard (notes were of similar motor and musical complexity across melodies). Pupil dilation was greater for liked melodies, particularly when predictable. Motor performance was facilitated in predictable rather than unpredictable melodies, but liked melodies were learned even in the unpredictable condition. Low-liked melodies also showed learning but mostly in participants with higher scores of task perceived competence. Taken together, these results highlight the effects of stimuli predictability on learning, which can be however overshadowed by the effects of stimulus liking or task-related intrinsic motivation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R Bianco
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Ear Institute, University College London, London, UK.
| | - B P Gold
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - A P Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - V B Penhune
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Jacoby N, Undurraga EA, McPherson MJ, Valdes J, Ossandon T, McDermott JH. Universal and Non-universal Features of Musical Pitch Perception Revealed by Singing. Curr Biol 2019; 29:3229-3243.e12. [PMID: 31543451 PMCID: PMC9907018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Revised: 06/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Musical pitch perception is argued to result from nonmusical biological constraints and thus to have similar characteristics across cultures, but its universality remains unclear. We probed pitch representations in residents of the Bolivian Amazon-the Tsimane', who live in relative isolation from Western culture-as well as US musicians and non-musicians. Participants sang back tone sequences presented in different frequency ranges. Sung responses of Amazonian and US participants approximately replicated heard intervals on a logarithmic scale, even for tones outside the singing range. Moreover, Amazonian and US reproductions both deteriorated for high-frequency tones even though they were fully audible. But whereas US participants tended to reproduce notes an integer number of octaves above or below the heard tones, Amazonians did not, ignoring the note "chroma" (C, D, etc.). Chroma matching in US participants was more pronounced in US musicians than non-musicians, was not affected by feedback, and was correlated with similarity-based measures of octave equivalence as well as the ability to match the absolute f0 of a stimulus in the singing range. The results suggest the cross-cultural presence of logarithmic scales for pitch, and biological constraints on the limits of pitch, but indicate that octave equivalence may be culturally contingent, plausibly dependent on pitch representations that develop from experience with particular musical systems. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nori Jacoby
- Computational Auditory Perception Group, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt 60322, Germany; The Center for Science and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Eduardo A. Undurraga
- Escuela de Gobierno, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile,Millennium Nucleus for the Study of the Life Course and Vulnerability (MLIV), Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile
| | - Malinda J. McPherson
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA,Program in Speech and Hearing Biosciences and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Joaquin Valdes
- Departamento de Psiquiatría, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile
| | - Tomas Ossandon
- Departamento de Psiquiatría, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile
| | - Josh H. McDermott
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA,Program in Speech and Hearing Biosciences and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA,McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA,Corresponding Authors: NJ: , JHM:
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Jarret T, Stockert A, Kotz SA, Tillmann B. Implicit learning of artificial grammatical structures after inferior frontal cortex lesions. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0222385. [PMID: 31539390 PMCID: PMC6754135 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous research associated the left inferior frontal cortex with implicit structure learning. The present study tested patients with lesions encompassing the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG; including Brodmann areas 44 and 45) to further investigate this cognitive function, notably by using non-verbal material, implicit investigation methods, and by enhancing potential remaining function via dynamic attending. Patients and healthy matched controls were exposed to an artificial pitch grammar in an implicit learning paradigm to circumvent the potential influence of impaired language processing. METHODS Patients and healthy controls listened to pitch sequences generated within a finite-state grammar (exposure phase) and then performed a categorization task on new pitch sequences (test phase). Participants were not informed about the underlying grammar in either the exposure phase or the test phase. Furthermore, the pitch structures were presented in a highly regular temporal context as the beneficial impact of temporal regularity (e.g. meter) in learning and perception has been previously reported. Based on the Dynamic Attending Theory (DAT), we hypothesized that a temporally regular context helps developing temporal expectations that, in turn, facilitate event perception, and thus benefit artificial grammar learning. RESULTS Electroencephalography results suggest preserved artificial grammar learning of pitch structures in patients and healthy controls. For both groups, analyses of event-related potentials revealed a larger early negativity (100-200 msec post-stimulus onset) in response to ungrammatical than grammatical pitch sequence events. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that (i) the LIFG does not play an exclusive role in the implicit learning of artificial pitch grammars, and (ii) the use of non-verbal material and an implicit task reveals cognitive capacities that remain intact despite lesions to the LIFG. These results provide grounds for training and rehabilitation, that is, learning of non-verbal grammars that may impact the relearning of verbal grammars.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Jarret
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anika Stockert
- Language and Aphasia Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sonja A. Kotz
- Dept. of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dept. of Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Barbara Tillmann
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Leung Y, Dean RT. Learning unfamiliar pitch intervals: A novel paradigm for demonstrating the learning of statistical associations between musical pitches. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203026. [PMID: 30161174 PMCID: PMC6117015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While mastering a musical instrument takes years, becoming familiar with a new music system requires less time and skills. In this study, we examine whether musically untrained Western listeners can incidentally learn an unfamiliar, microtonal musical scale from simply engaging in a timbre discrimination task. The experiment is comprised of an Exposure and a Test phase. During Exposure, 21 non-musicians were instructed to detect a timbre shift (TS) within short microtonal melodies, and we hypothesised that they would incidentally learn about the pitch interval structure of the microtonal scale from attending to the melodies during the task. In a follow-up Test phase, the tone before the TS was either a member (congruent) or a non-member (incongruent) of the scale. Based on our statistical manipulation of the stimuli, incongruent tones would be a better predictor of an incoming TS than the congruent tones. We therefore expect a faster response time to the shift after the participants have heard an incongruent tone. Specifically, a faster response time observed after an incongruent tone would imply participants’ ability to differentiate tones from the microtonal and the diatonic scale, and reflect their learning of the microtonal pitch intervals. Results are consistent with our predictions. In investigating the learning of a microtonal scale, our study can offer directions for future research on the perception of computer music and new musical genres.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Leung
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Roger Thornton Dean
- MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Pearce M, Rohrmeier M. Musical Syntax II: Empirical Perspectives. SPRINGER HANDBOOK OF SYSTEMATIC MUSICOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-55004-5_26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
|
20
|
Zuk J, Bishop-Liebler P, Ozernov-Palchik O, Moore E, Overy K, Welch G, Gaab N. Revisiting the "enigma" of musicians with dyslexia: Auditory sequencing and speech abilities. J Exp Psychol Gen 2017; 146:495-511. [PMID: 28383990 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has suggested a link between musical training and auditory processing skills. Musicians have shown enhanced perception of auditory features critical to both music and speech, suggesting that this link extends beyond basic auditory processing. It remains unclear to what extent musicians who also have dyslexia show these specialized abilities, considering often-observed persistent deficits that coincide with reading impairments. The present study evaluated auditory sequencing and speech discrimination in 52 adults comprised of musicians with dyslexia, nonmusicians with dyslexia, and typical musicians. An auditory sequencing task measuring perceptual acuity for tone sequences of increasing length was administered. Furthermore, subjects were asked to discriminate synthesized syllable continua varying in acoustic components of speech necessary for intraphonemic discrimination, which included spectral (formant frequency) and temporal (voice onset time [VOT] and amplitude envelope) features. Results indicate that musicians with dyslexia did not significantly differ from typical musicians and performed better than nonmusicians with dyslexia for auditory sequencing as well as discrimination of spectral and VOT cues within syllable continua. However, typical musicians demonstrated superior performance relative to both groups with dyslexia for discrimination of syllables varying in amplitude information. These findings suggest a distinct profile of speech processing abilities in musicians with dyslexia, with specific weaknesses in discerning amplitude cues within speech. Because these difficulties seem to remain persistent in adults with dyslexia despite musical training, this study only partly supports the potential for musical training to enhance the auditory processing skills known to be crucial for literacy in individuals with dyslexia. (PsycINFO Database Record
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Zuk
- Developmental Medicine Center, Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children's Hospital
| | - Paula Bishop-Liebler
- International Music Education Research Centre, Institute of Education, University College London
| | - Ola Ozernov-Palchik
- Developmental Medicine Center, Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children's Hospital
| | - Emma Moore
- Institute of Music in Human and Social Development, Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh
| | - Katie Overy
- Institute of Music in Human and Social Development, Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh
| | - Graham Welch
- International Music Education Research Centre, Institute of Education, University College London
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Developmental Medicine Center, Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children's Hospital
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Agres K, Abdallah S, Pearce M. Information-Theoretic Properties of Auditory Sequences Dynamically Influence Expectation and Memory. Cogn Sci 2017; 42:43-76. [DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kat Agres
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science; Queen Mary University of London
| | - Samer Abdallah
- Department of Computer Science; University College London
| | - Marcus Pearce
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science; Queen Mary University of London
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Lumaca M, Baggio G. Cultural Transmission and Evolution of Melodic Structures in Multi-generational Signaling Games. ARTIFICIAL LIFE 2017; 23:406-423. [PMID: 28786724 DOI: 10.1162/artl_a_00238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
It has been proposed that languages evolve by adapting to the perceptual and cognitive constraints of the human brain, developing, in the course of cultural transmission, structural regularities that maximize or optimize learnability and ease of processing. To what extent would perceptual and cognitive constraints similarly affect the evolution of musical systems? We conducted an experiment on the cultural evolution of artificial melodic systems, using multi-generational signaling games as a laboratory model of cultural transmission. Signaling systems, using five-tone sequences as signals, and basic and compound emotions as meanings, were transmitted from senders to receivers along diffusion chains in which the receiver in each game became the sender in the next game. During transmission, structural regularities accumulated in the signaling systems, following principles of proximity, symmetry, and good continuation. Although the compositionality of signaling systems did not increase significantly across generations, we did observe a significant increase in similarity among signals from the same set. We suggest that our experiment tapped into the cognitive and perceptual constraints operative in the cultural evolution of musical systems, which may differ from the mechanisms at play in language evolution and change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Lumaca
- SISSA International School for Advanced Studies
- Aarhus University
| | - Giosuè Baggio
- SISSA International School for Advanced Studies
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Rohrmeier M, Widdess R. Incidental Learning of Melodic Structure of North Indian Music. Cogn Sci 2016; 41:1299-1327. [PMID: 27859578 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2012] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Musical knowledge is largely implicit. It is acquired without awareness of its complex rules, through interaction with a large number of samples during musical enculturation. Whereas several studies explored implicit learning of mostly abstract and less ecologically valid features of Western music, very little work has been done with respect to ecologically valid stimuli as well as non-Western music. The present study investigated implicit learning of modal melodic features in North Indian classical music in a realistic and ecologically valid way. It employed a cross-grammar design, using melodic materials from two modes (rāgas) that use the same scale. Findings indicated that Western participants unfamiliar with Indian music incidentally learned to identify distinctive features of each mode. Confidence ratings suggest that participants' performance was consistently correlated with confidence, indicating that they became aware of whether they were right in their responses; that is, they possessed explicit judgment knowledge. Altogether our findings show incidental learning in a realistic ecologically valid context during only a very short exposure, they provide evidence that incidental learning constitutes a powerful mechanism that plays a fundamental role in musical acquisition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rohrmeier
- Department of Art and Musicology, Dresden University of Technology.,Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT Intelligence Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | - Richard Widdess
- Department of Music, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Cui AX, Diercks C, Troje NF, Cuddy LL. Short and long term representation of an unfamiliar tone distribution. PeerJ 2016; 4:e2399. [PMID: 27635355 PMCID: PMC5012311 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We report on a study conducted to extend our knowledge about the process of gaining a mental representation of music. Several studies, inspired by research on the statistical learning of language, have investigated statistical learning of sequential rules underlying tone sequences. Given that the mental representation of music correlates with distributional properties of music, we tested whether participants are able to abstract distributional information contained in tone sequences to form a mental representation. For this purpose, we created an unfamiliar music genre defined by an underlying tone distribution, to which 40 participants were exposed. Our stimuli allowed us to differentiate between sensitivity to the distributional properties contained in test stimuli and long term representation of the distributional properties of the music genre overall. Using a probe tone paradigm and a two-alternative forced choice discrimination task, we show that listeners are able to abstract distributional properties of music through mere exposure into a long term representation of music. This lends support to the idea that statistical learning is involved in the process of gaining musical knowledge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anja X Cui
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada
| | - Charlette Diercks
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Fachbereich Humanwissenschaften, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Nikolaus F Troje
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada
| | - Lola L Cuddy
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Koelsch S, Busch T, Jentschke S, Rohrmeier M. Under the hood of statistical learning: A statistical MMN reflects the magnitude of transitional probabilities in auditory sequences. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19741. [PMID: 26830652 PMCID: PMC4735647 DOI: 10.1038/srep19741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Within the framework of statistical learning, many behavioural studies investigated the processing of unpredicted events. However, surprisingly few neurophysiological studies are available on this topic, and no statistical learning experiment has investigated electroencephalographic (EEG) correlates of processing events with different transition probabilities. We carried out an EEG study with a novel variant of the established statistical learning paradigm. Timbres were presented in isochronous sequences of triplets. The first two sounds of all triplets were equiprobable, while the third sound occurred with either low (10%), intermediate (30%), or high (60%) probability. Thus, the occurrence probability of the third item of each triplet (given the first two items) was varied. Compared to high-probability triplet endings, endings with low and intermediate probability elicited an early anterior negativity that had an onset around 100 ms and was maximal at around 180 ms. This effect was larger for events with low than for events with intermediate probability. Our results reveal that, when predictions are based on statistical learning, events that do not match a prediction evoke an early anterior negativity, with the amplitude of this mismatch response being inversely related to the probability of such events. Thus, we report a statistical mismatch negativity (sMMN) that reflects statistical learning of transitional probability distributions that go beyond auditory sensory memory capabilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Koelsch
- University of Bergen, Department for Biological and Medical Psychology, Bergen, 5009, Norway
| | - Tobias Busch
- Freie Universität Berlin, Department for Educational Sciences and Psychology, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Sebastian Jentschke
- University of Bergen, Department for Biological and Medical Psychology, Bergen, 5009, Norway
| | - Martin Rohrmeier
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Kunst- und Musikwissenschaft, Dresden, 01219, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Jung H, Sontag S, Park YS, Loui P. Rhythmic Effects of Syntax Processing in Music and Language. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1762. [PMID: 26635672 PMCID: PMC4655243 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Music and language are human cognitive and neural functions that share many structural similarities. Past theories posit a sharing of neural resources between syntax processing in music and language (Patel, 2003), and a dynamic attention network that governs general temporal processing (Large and Jones, 1999). Both make predictions about music and language processing over time. Experiment 1 of this study investigates the relationship between rhythmic expectancy and musical and linguistic syntax in a reading time paradigm. Stimuli (adapted from Slevc et al., 2009) were sentences broken down into segments; each sentence segment was paired with a musical chord and presented at a fixed inter-onset interval. Linguistic syntax violations appeared in a garden-path design. During the critical region of the garden-path sentence, i.e., the particular segment in which the syntactic unexpectedness was processed, expectancy violations for language, music, and rhythm were each independently manipulated: musical expectation was manipulated by presenting out-of-key chords and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated by perturbing the fixed inter-onset interval such that the sentence segments and musical chords appeared either early or late. Reading times were recorded for each sentence segment and compared for linguistic, musical, and rhythmic expectancy. Results showed main effects of rhythmic expectancy and linguistic syntax expectancy on reading time. There was also an effect of rhythm on the interaction between musical and linguistic syntax: effects of violations in musical and linguistic syntax showed significant interaction only during rhythmically expected trials. To test the effects of our experimental design on rhythmic and linguistic expectancies, independently of musical syntax, Experiment 2 used the same experimental paradigm, but the musical factor was eliminated—linguistic stimuli were simply presented silently, and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated at the critical region. Experiment 2 replicated effects of rhythm and language, without an interaction. Together, results suggest that the interaction of music and language syntax processing depends on rhythmic expectancy, and support a merging of theories of music and language syntax processing with dynamic models of attentional entrainment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harim Jung
- Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics Lab, Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA
| | - Samuel Sontag
- Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics Lab, Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA
| | - YeBin S Park
- Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics Lab, Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA
| | - Psyche Loui
- Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics Lab, Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Ravignani A, Westphal-Fitch G, Aust U, Schlumpp MM, Fitch WT. More than one way to see it: Individual heuristics in avian visual computation. Cognition 2015; 143:13-24. [PMID: 26113444 PMCID: PMC4710635 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Revised: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Comparative pattern learning experiments investigate how different species find regularities in sensory input, providing insights into cognitive processing in humans and other animals. Past research has focused either on one species' ability to process pattern classes or different species' performance in recognizing the same pattern, with little attention to individual and species-specific heuristics and decision strategies. We trained and tested two bird species, pigeons (Columba livia) and kea (Nestor notabilis, a parrot species), on visual patterns using touch-screen technology. Patterns were composed of several abstract elements and had varying degrees of structural complexity. We developed a model selection paradigm, based on regular expressions, that allowed us to reconstruct the specific decision strategies and cognitive heuristics adopted by a given individual in our task. Individual birds showed considerable differences in the number, type and heterogeneity of heuristic strategies adopted. Birds' choices also exhibited consistent species-level differences. Kea adopted effective heuristic strategies, based on matching learned bigrams to stimulus edges. Individual pigeons, in contrast, adopted an idiosyncratic mix of strategies that included local transition probabilities and global string similarity. Although performance was above chance and quite high for kea, no individual of either species provided clear evidence of learning exactly the rule used to generate the training stimuli. Our results show that similar behavioral outcomes can be achieved using dramatically different strategies and highlight the dangers of combining multiple individuals in a group analysis. These findings, and our general approach, have implications for the design of future pattern learning experiments, and the interpretation of comparative cognition research more generally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ravignani
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9AD Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Gesche Westphal-Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Aust
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin M Schlumpp
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Haidlhof Research Station, University of Vienna/University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna/Messerli Research Institute, 2540 Bad Vöslau, Austria
| | - W Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Haidlhof Research Station, University of Vienna/University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna/Messerli Research Institute, 2540 Bad Vöslau, Austria.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Carey D, Rosen S, Krishnan S, Pearce MT, Shepherd A, Aydelott J, Dick F. Generality and specificity in the effects of musical expertise on perception and cognition. Cognition 2015; 137:81-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2014.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2013] [Revised: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
29
|
Guo S, Koelsch S. The effects of supervised learning on event-related potential correlates of music-syntactic processing. Brain Res 2015; 1626:232-46. [PMID: 25660849 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Revised: 01/22/2015] [Accepted: 01/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Humans process music even without conscious effort according to implicit knowledge about syntactic regularities. Whether such automatic and implicit processing is modulated by veridical knowledge has remained unknown in previous neurophysiological studies. This study investigates this issue by testing whether the acquisition of veridical knowledge of a music-syntactic irregularity (acquired through supervised learning) modulates early, partly automatic, music-syntactic processes (as reflected in the early right anterior negativity, ERAN), and/or late controlled processes (as reflected in the late positive component, LPC). Excerpts of piano sonatas with syntactically regular and less regular chords were presented repeatedly (10 times) to non-musicians and amateur musicians. Participants were informed by a cue as to whether the following excerpt contained a regular or less regular chord. Results showed that the repeated exposure to several presentations of regular and less regular excerpts did not influence the ERAN elicited by less regular chords. By contrast, amplitudes of the LPC (as well as of the P3a evoked by less regular chords) decreased systematically across learning trials. These results reveal that late controlled, but not early (partly automatic), neural mechanisms of music-syntactic processing are modulated by repeated exposure to a musical piece. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Prediction and Attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Guo
- Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Koelsch
- Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Schiff R, Katan P. Does complexity matter? Meta-analysis of learner performance in artificial grammar tasks. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1084. [PMID: 25309495 PMCID: PMC4174743 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2014] [Accepted: 09/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Complexity has been shown to affect performance on artificial grammar learning (AGL) tasks (categorization of test items as grammatical/ungrammatical according to the implicitly trained grammar rules). However, previously published AGL experiments did not utilize consistent measures to investigate the comprehensive effect of grammar complexity on task performance. The present study focused on computerizing Bollt and Jones's (2000) technique of calculating topological entropy (TE), a quantitative measure of AGL charts' complexity, with the aim of examining associations between grammar systems' TE and learners' AGL task performance. We surveyed the literature and identified 56 previous AGL experiments based on 10 different grammars that met the sampling criteria. Using the automated matrix-lift-action method, we assigned a TE value for each of these 10 previously used AGL systems and examined its correlation with learners' task performance. The meta-regression analysis showed a significant correlation, demonstrating that the complexity effect transcended the different settings and conditions in which the categorization task was performed. The results reinforced the importance of using this new automated tool to uniformly measure grammar systems' complexity when experimenting with and evaluating the findings of AGL studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Schiff
- Learning Disabilities Studies and Haddad Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities, School of Education, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Pesia Katan
- Learning Disabilities Studies, School of Education, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Rohrmeier MA, Cross I. Modelling unsupervised online-learning of artificial grammars: linking implicit and statistical learning. Conscious Cogn 2014; 27:155-67. [PMID: 24905545 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2014.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2011] [Revised: 03/26/2014] [Accepted: 03/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Humans rapidly learn complex structures in various domains. Findings of above-chance performance of some untrained control groups in artificial grammar learning studies raise questions about the extent to which learning can occur in an untrained, unsupervised testing situation with both correct and incorrect structures. The plausibility of unsupervised online-learning effects was modelled with n-gram, chunking and simple recurrent network models. A novel evaluation framework was applied, which alternates forced binary grammaticality judgments and subsequent learning of the same stimulus. Our results indicate a strong online learning effect for n-gram and chunking models and a weaker effect for simple recurrent network models. Such findings suggest that online learning is a plausible effect of statistical chunk learning that is possible when ungrammatical sequences contain a large proportion of grammatical chunks. Such common effects of continuous statistical learning may underlie statistical and implicit learning paradigms and raise implications for study design and testing methodologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin A Rohrmeier
- Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Centre for Music and Science, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Ian Cross
- Centre for Music and Science, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Li F, Jiang S, Guo X, Yang Z, Dienes Z. The nature of the memory buffer in implicit learning: learning Chinese tonal symmetries. Conscious Cogn 2013; 22:920-30. [PMID: 23863131 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2012] [Revised: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has established that people can implicitly learn chunks, which (in terms of formal language theory) do not require a memory buffer to process. The present study explores the implicit learning of nonlocal dependencies generated by higher than finite-state grammars, specifically, Chinese tonal retrogrades (i.e. centre embeddings generated from a context-free grammar) and inversions (i.e. cross-serial dependencies generated from a mildly context-sensitive grammar), which do require buffers (for example, last in-first out and first in-first out, respectively). People were asked to listen to and memorize artificial poetry instantiating one of the two grammars; after this training phase, people were informed of the existence of rules and asked to classify new poems, while providing attributions of the basis of their judgments. People acquired unconscious structural knowledge of both tonal retrogrades and inversions. Moreover, inversions were implicitly learnt more easily than retrogrades constraining the nature of the memory buffer in computational models of implicit learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Li
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Rohrmeier M, Cross I. Artificial grammar learning of melody is constrained by melodic inconsistency: Narmour's principles affect melodic learning. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66174. [PMID: 23874388 PMCID: PMC3706544 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2012] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Considerable evidence suggests that people acquire artificial grammars incidentally and implicitly, an indispensable capacity for the acquisition of music or language. However, less research has been devoted to exploring constraints affecting incidental learning. Within the domain of music, the extent to which Narmour's (1990) melodic principles affect implicit learning of melodic structure was experimentally explored. Extending previous research (Rohrmeier, Rebuschat & Cross, 2011), the identical finite-state grammar is employed having terminals (the alphabet) manipulated so that melodies generated systematically violated Narmour's principles. Results indicate that Narmour-inconsistent melodic materials impede implicit learning. This further constitutes a case in which artificial grammar learning is affected by prior knowledge or processing constraints.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rohrmeier
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachussetts, United States of America
- Centre for Music and Science, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Ian Cross
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachussetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Bidirectional transfer between metaphorical related domains in implicit learning of form-meaning connections. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68100. [PMID: 23844159 PMCID: PMC3701079 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
People can implicitly learn a connection between linguistic forms and meanings, for example between specific determiners (e.g. this, that…) and the type of nouns to which they apply. Li et al (2013) recently found that transfer of form-meaning connections from a concrete domain (height) to an abstract domain (power) was achieved in a metaphor-consistent way without awareness, showing that unconscious knowledge can be abstract and flexibly deployed. The current study aims to determine whether people transfer knowledge of form-meaning connections not only from a concrete domain to an abstract one, but also vice versa, consistent with metaphor representation being bi-directional. With a similar paradigm as used by Li et al, participants learnt form- meaning connections of different domains (concrete vs. abstract) and then were tested on two kinds of generalizations (same and different domain generalization). As predicted, transfer of form-meaning connections occurred bidirectionally when structural knowledge was unconscious. Moreover, the present study also revealed that more transfer occurred between metaphorically related domains when judgment knowledge was conscious (intuition) rather than unconscious (guess). Conscious and unconscious judgment knowledge may have different functional properties.
Collapse
|
35
|
Mealor AD, Dienes Z. Explicit feedback maintains implicit knowledge. Conscious Cogn 2013; 22:822-32. [PMID: 23770696 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Revised: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The role of feedback was investigated with respect to conscious and unconscious knowledge acquired during artificial grammar learning (AGL). After incidental learning of training sequences, participants classified further sequences in terms of grammaticality and reported their decision strategy with or without explicit veridical feedback. Sequences that disobeyed the learning structure conformed to an alternative structure. Feedback led to an increase in the amount of reported conscious knowledge of structure (derived rules and recollections) but did not increase its accuracy. Conversely, feedback maintained the accuracy of unconscious knowledge of structure (intuition or familiarity-based responses) which otherwise degraded. Results support a dual-process account of AGL. They suggest that implicit learning of the to-be-rejected structure at test contaminates familiarity-based classifications whereas feedback allows competing familiarity signals to be contextualised, which is incompatible with theories that consider familiarity context-insensitive.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andy D Mealor
- Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK.
| | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Orgs G, Hagura N, Haggard P. Learning to like it: aesthetic perception of bodies, movements and choreographic structure. Conscious Cogn 2013; 22:603-12. [PMID: 23624142 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2012] [Revised: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 03/21/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Appreciating human movement can be a powerful aesthetic experience. We have used apparent biological motion to investigate the aesthetic effects of three levels of movement representation: body postures, movement transitions and choreographic structure. Symmetrical (ABCDCBA) and asymmetrical (ABCDBCA) sequences of apparent movement were created from static postures, and were presented in an artificial grammar learning paradigm. Additionally, "good" continuation of apparent movements was manipulated by changing the number of movement path reversals within a sequence. In an initial exposure phase, one group of participants saw only symmetrical sequences, while another group saw only asymmetrical sequences. In a subsequent test phase, both groups rated all sequences on an aesthetic evaluation scale. We found that posture, movement, and choreographic structure all influenced aesthetic ratings. Separate ratings for the static body postures presented individually showed that both groups preferred a posture that maximized spatial symmetry. Ratings for the experimental sequences showed that both groups gave higher ratings to symmetrical sequences with "good" continuation and lower ratings to sequences with many path reversals. Further, participants who had been initially familiarized with asymmetrical sequences showed increased liking for asymmetrical sequences, suggesting a structural mere exposure effect. Aesthetic preferences thus depend on body postures, apparent movement continuation and choreographic structure. We propose a hierarchical model of aesthetic perception of human movement with distinct processing levels for body postures, movements and choreographic structure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guido Orgs
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, United Kingdom.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Abstract
Why should music be of interest to cognitive scientists, and what role does it play in human cognition? We review three factors that make music an important topic for cognitive scientific research. First, music is a universal human trait fulfilling crucial roles in everyday life. Second, music has an important part to play in ontogenetic development and human evolution. Third, appreciating and producing music simultaneously engage many complex perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processes, rendering music an ideal object for studying the mind. We propose an integrated status for music cognition in the Cognitive Sciences and conclude by reviewing challenges and big questions in the field and the way in which these reflect recent developments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Pearce
- Music Cognition Lab, School of Electronic Engineering & Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London
| | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Implicit learning of mappings between forms and metaphorical meanings. Conscious Cogn 2013; 22:174-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2012] [Revised: 11/14/2012] [Accepted: 11/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
39
|
Rohrmeier M, Fu Q, Dienes Z. Implicit learning of recursive context-free grammars. PLoS One 2012; 7:e45885. [PMID: 23094021 PMCID: PMC3477156 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2012] [Accepted: 08/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Context-free grammars are fundamental for the description of linguistic syntax. However, most artificial grammar learning experiments have explored learning of simpler finite-state grammars, while studies exploring context-free grammars have not assessed awareness and implicitness. This paper explores the implicit learning of context-free grammars employing features of hierarchical organization, recursive embedding and long-distance dependencies. The grammars also featured the distinction between left- and right-branching structures, as well as between centre- and tail-embedding, both distinctions found in natural languages. People acquired unconscious knowledge of relations between grammatical classes even for dependencies over long distances, in ways that went beyond learning simpler relations (e.g. n-grams) between individual words. The structural distinctions drawn from linguistics also proved important as performance was greater for tail-embedding than centre-embedding structures. The results suggest the plausibility of implicit learning of complex context-free structures, which model some features of natural languages. They support the relevance of artificial grammar learning for probing mechanisms of language learning and challenge existing theories and computational models of implicit learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rohrmeier
- Cluster Languages of Emotion, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
|
41
|
Loui P. Learning and liking of melody and harmony: further studies in artificial grammar learning. Top Cogn Sci 2012; 4:554-67. [PMID: 22760940 DOI: 10.1111/j.1756-8765.2012.01208.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Much of what we know and love about music is based on implicitly acquired mental representations of musical pitches and the relationships between them. While previous studies have shown that these mental representations of music can be acquired rapidly and can influence preference, it is still unclear which aspects of music influence learning and preference formation. This article reports two experiments that use an artificial musical system to examine two questions: (1) which aspects of music matter most for learning, and (2) which aspects of music matter most for preference formation. Two aspects of music are tested: melody and harmony. In Experiment 1 we tested the learning and liking of a new musical system that is manipulated melodically so that only some of the possible conditional probabilities between successive notes are presented. In Experiment 2 we administered the same tests for learning and liking, but we used a musical system that is manipulated harmonically to eliminate the property of harmonic whole-integer ratios between pitches. Results show that disrupting melody (Experiment 1) disabled the learning of music without disrupting preference formation, whereas disrupting harmony (Experiment 2) does not affect learning and memory but disrupts preference formation. Results point to a possible dissociation between learning and preference in musical knowledge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Psyche Loui
- Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
François C, Tillmann B, Schön D. Cognitive and methodological considerations on the effects of musical expertise on speech segmentation. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2012; 1252:108-15. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06395.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
43
|
Predictive information processing in music cognition. A critical review. Int J Psychophysiol 2012; 83:164-75. [PMID: 22245599 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2011] [Revised: 12/27/2011] [Accepted: 12/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
|
44
|
Unconscious structural knowledge of form–meaning connections. Conscious Cogn 2011; 20:1751-60. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2011.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2010] [Revised: 02/09/2011] [Accepted: 03/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
45
|
Omigie D, Stewart L. Preserved statistical learning of tonal and linguistic material in congenital amusia. Front Psychol 2011; 2:109. [PMID: 21779263 PMCID: PMC3132680 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2011] [Accepted: 05/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital amusia is a lifelong disorder whereby individuals have pervasive difficulties in perceiving and producing music. In contrast, typical individuals display a sophisticated understanding of musical structure, even in the absence of musical training. Previous research has shown that they acquire this knowledge implicitly, through exposure to music's statistical regularities. The present study tested the hypothesis that congenital amusia may result from a failure to internalize statistical regularities – specifically, lower-order transitional probabilities. To explore the specificity of any potential deficits to the musical domain, learning was examined with both tonal and linguistic material. Participants were exposed to structured tonal and linguistic sequences and, in a subsequent test phase, were required to identify items which had been heard in the exposure phase, as distinct from foils comprising elements that had been present during exposure, but presented in a different temporal order. Amusic and control individuals showed comparable learning, for both tonal and linguistic material, even when the tonal stream included pitch intervals around one semitone. However analysis of binary confidence ratings revealed that amusic individuals have less confidence in their abilities and that their performance in learning tasks may not be contingent on explicit knowledge formation or level of awareness to the degree shown in typical individuals. The current findings suggest that the difficulties amusic individuals have with real-world music cannot be accounted for by an inability to internalize lower-order statistical regularities but may arise from other factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diana Omigie
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London London, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|