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Berthault E, Chen S, Falk S, Morillon B, Schön D. Auditory and motor priming of metric structure improves understanding of degraded speech. Cognition 2024; 248:105793. [PMID: 38636164 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105793] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Speech comprehension is enhanced when preceded (or accompanied) by a congruent rhythmic prime reflecting the metrical sentence structure. Although these phenomena have been described for auditory and motor primes separately, their respective and synergistic contribution has not been addressed. In this experiment, participants performed a speech comprehension task on degraded speech signals that were preceded by a rhythmic prime that could be auditory, motor or audiomotor. Both auditory and audiomotor rhythmic primes facilitated speech comprehension speed. While the presence of a purely motor prime (unpaced tapping) did not globally benefit speech comprehension, comprehension accuracy scaled with the regularity of motor tapping. In order to investigate inter-individual variability, participants also performed a Spontaneous Speech Synchronization test. The strength of the estimated perception-production coupling correlated positively with overall speech comprehension scores. These findings are discussed in the framework of the dynamic attending and active sensing theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Berthault
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France.
| | - Sophie Chen
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France.
| | - Simone Falk
- Department of Linguistics and Translation, University of Montreal, Canada; International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Benjamin Morillon
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France.
| | - Daniele Schön
- Aix Marseille Université, INSERM, INS, Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France.
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León Méndez MDC, Fernández García L, Daza González MT. Effectiveness of rhythmic training on linguistics skill development in deaf children and adolescents with cochlear implants: A systematic review. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2023; 169:111561. [PMID: 37088038 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2023.111561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This review compiles the scientific evidence to date on the effectiveness of musical/rhythmic training for improving and/or enhancing the development of language skills in deaf children aged 6-16 years with cochlear implants. METHODS PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science were used for the research following the PRISMA protocol. RESULTS The reviewed studies indicate that rhythmic training can improve language skills (perception, production, and comprehension) in this population, as well as in other cognitive skills. CONCLUSION Although further research is still needed, the current evidence can help identify new and more effective early intervention methods for deaf children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Fernández García
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain; Center for Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation (CERNEP), University of Almería, Almería, Spain
| | - María Teresa Daza González
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain; Center for Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation (CERNEP), University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
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Pesnot Lerousseau J, Hidalgo C, Roman S, Schön D. Does auditory deprivation impairs statistical learning in the auditory modality? Cognition 2022; 222:105009. [PMID: 34999437 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.105009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Early sensory deprivation allows assessing the extent of reorganisation of cognitive functions, well beyond sensory processing. As such, it is a good model to explore the links between sensory experience and cognitive functions. One of these functions, statistical learning - the ability to extract and use regularities present in the environment - is suspected to be impaired in prelingually deaf children with a cochlear implant. However, empirical evidence supporting this claim is very scarce and studies have reported contradictory results. This might be because previous studies have tested statistical learning only in the visual modality and did not make clear distinctions between multiple types of statistical regularities. To overcome these problems, we designed a modified serial reaction time task where cochlear implanted children and normal hearing children had to react to auditory sequences that embed multiple statistical regularities, namely transition probabilities of 0th, 1st or 2nd order. We compared the reaction times of the children with the output of a simple computational model that learns transition probabilities. First, 6-12 years old children were able to learn 0th and 1st order transition probabilities but not 2nd order ones. Second, there were no differences between cochlear implanted children and their normal hearing peers. These results indicate that auditory statistical learning is preserved in congenitally deaf children with cochlear implants. This suggests in turn that early auditory deprivation might not be crucially detrimental for the normal development of statistical learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Céline Hidalgo
- Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France; La Timone Children's Hospital, ENT Unit, Marseille, France
| | - Stéphane Roman
- La Timone Children's Hospital, ENT Unit, Marseille, France
| | - Daniele Schön
- Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
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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.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniele Schön
- Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, INS, Inst Neurosci Syst, Marseille, France
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Neural Correlates of Vocal Auditory Feedback Processing: Unique Insights from Electrocorticography Recordings in a Human Cochlear Implant User. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0181-20.2020. [PMID: 33419861 PMCID: PMC7877459 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0181-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There is considerable interest in understanding cortical processing and the function of top-down and bottom-up human neural circuits that control speech production. Research efforts to investigate these circuits are aided by analysis of spectro-temporal response characteristics of neural activity recorded by electrocorticography (ECoG). Further, cortical processing may be altered in the case of hearing-impaired cochlear implant (CI) users, as electric excitation of the auditory nerve creates a markedly different neural code for speech compared with that of the functionally intact hearing system. Studies of cortical activity in CI users typically record scalp potentials and are hampered by stimulus artifact contamination and by spatiotemporal filtering imposed by the skull. We present a unique case of a CI user who required direct recordings from the cortical surface using subdural electrodes implanted for epilepsy assessment. Using experimental conditions where the subject vocalized in the presence (CIs ON) or absence (CIs OFF) of auditory feedback, or listened to playback of self-vocalizations without production, we observed ECoG activity primarily in γ (32–70 Hz) and high γ (70–150 Hz) bands at focal regions on the lateral surface of the superior temporal gyrus (STG). High γ band responses differed in their amplitudes across conditions and cortical sites, possibly reflecting different rates of stimulus presentation and differing levels of neural adaptation. STG γ responses to playback and vocalization with auditory feedback were not different from responses to vocalization without feedback, indicating this activity reflects not only auditory, but also attentional, efference-copy, and sensorimotor processing during speech production.
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Kragness HE, Swaminathan S, Cirelli LK, Schellenberg EG. Individual differences in musical ability are stable over time in childhood. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13081. [PMID: 33382177 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The development of human abilities stems from a complex interplay between genetic predispositions and environmental factors. Numerous studies have compared musicians with non-musicians on measures of musical and non-musical ability, frequently attributing musicians' superior performance to their training. By ignoring preexisting differences, however, this view assumes that taking music lessons is akin to random assignment. In the present longitudinal study, the musical ability of 5- to 10-year-olds was measured at Time 1 with a test of music perception and cognition. Five years later, at Time 2, the children took the same test and a second test designed for older listeners. The test-retest correlation for aggregate scores was remarkably high, r ≈ 0.7, and remained strong when confounding variables (age, cognitive abilities, personality) were held constant. At both time points, music training was associated with musical ability, but the association at Time 2 became nonsignificant when musical ability at Time 1 was held constant. Time 1 musical ability also predicted duration of subsequent music training. These data are consistent with results from genetic studies, which implicate genes in all aspects of musical behavior and achievement, and with meta-analyses, which indicate that transfer effects from music training are weak. In short, early musical abilities significantly predicted later abilities, demonstrating that individual differences are stable over time. We found no evidence, however, to suggest that music training predicted musical ability after accounting for prior ability. The results underscore the importance of considering preexisting abilities in any type of learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley E Kragness
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, Canada
| | - Swathi Swaminathan
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Laura K Cirelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, ON, Canada
| | - E Glenn Schellenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.,Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social (CIS-IUL), Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES Children with hearing loss (HL), in spite of early cochlear implantation, often struggle considerably with language acquisition. Previous research has shown a benefit of rhythmic training on linguistic skills in children with HL, suggesting that improving rhythmic capacities could help attenuating language difficulties. However, little is known about general rhythmic skills of children with HL and how they relate to speech perception. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) to assess the abilities of children with HL in different rhythmic sensorimotor synchronization tasks compared to a normal-hearing control group and (2) to investigate a possible relation between sensorimotor synchronization abilities and speech perception abilities in children with HL. DESIGN A battery of sensorimotor synchronization tests with stimuli of varying acoustic and temporal complexity was used: a metronome, different musical excerpts, and complex rhythmic patterns. Synchronization abilities were assessed in 32 children (aged from 5 to 10 years) with a severe to profound HL mainly fitted with one or two cochlear implants (n = 28) or with hearing aids (n = 4). Working memory and sentence repetition abilities were also assessed. Performance was compared to an age-matched control group of 24 children with normal hearing. The comparison took into account variability in working memory capacities. For children with HL only, we computed linear regressions on speech, sensorimotor synchronization, and working memory abilities, including device-related variables such as onset of device use, type of device, and duration of use. RESULTS Compared to the normal-hearing group, children with HL performed poorly in all sensorimotor synchronization tasks, but the effect size was greater for complex as compared to simple stimuli. Group differences in working memory did not explain this result. Linear regression analysis revealed that working memory, synchronization to complex rhythms performances, age, and duration of device use predicted the number of correct syllables produced in a sentence repetition task. CONCLUSION Despite early cochlear implantation or hearing aid use, hearing impairment affects the quality of temporal processing of acoustic stimuli in congenitally deaf children. This deficit seems to be more severe with stimuli of increasing rhythmic complexity highlighting a difficulty in structuring sounds according to a temporal hierarchy.
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Pesnot Lerousseau J, Hidalgo C, Schön D. Musical Training for Auditory Rehabilitation in Hearing Loss. J Clin Med 2020; 9:jcm9041058. [PMID: 32276390 PMCID: PMC7230165 DOI: 10.3390/jcm9041058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the overall success of cochlear implantation, language outcomes remain suboptimal and subject to large inter-individual variability. Early auditory rehabilitation techniques have mostly focused on low-level sensory abilities. However, a new body of literature suggests that cognitive operations are critical for auditory perception remediation. We argue in this paper that musical training is a particularly appealing candidate for such therapies, as it involves highly relevant cognitive abilities, such as temporal predictions, hierarchical processing, and auditory-motor interactions. We review recent studies demonstrating that music can enhance both language perception and production at multiple levels, from syllable processing to turn-taking in natural conversation.
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Laffere A, Dick F, Tierney A. Effects of auditory selective attention on neural phase: individual differences and short-term training. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116717. [PMID: 32165265 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
How does the brain follow a sound that is mixed with others in a noisy environment? One possible strategy is to allocate attention to task-relevant time intervals. Prior work has linked auditory selective attention to alignment of neural modulations with stimulus temporal structure. However, since this prior research used relatively easy tasks and focused on analysis of main effects of attention across participants, relatively little is known about the neural foundations of individual differences in auditory selective attention. Here we investigated individual differences in auditory selective attention by asking participants to perform a 1-back task on a target auditory stream while ignoring a distractor auditory stream presented 180° out of phase. Neural entrainment to the attended auditory stream was strongly linked to individual differences in task performance. Some variability in performance was accounted for by degree of musical training, suggesting a link between long-term auditory experience and auditory selective attention. To investigate whether short-term improvements in auditory selective attention are possible, we gave participants 2 h of auditory selective attention training and found improvements in both task performance and enhancements of the effects of attention on neural phase angle. Our results suggest that although there exist large individual differences in auditory selective attention and attentional modulation of neural phase angle, this skill improves after a small amount of targeted training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aeron Laffere
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - Fred Dick
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK; Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Adam Tierney
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK.
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