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de Hoyos L, Verhoef E, Okbay A, Vermeulen JR, Figaroa C, Lense M, Fisher SE, Gordon RL, St Pourcain B. Preschool musicality is associated with school-age communication abilities through genes related to rhythmicity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.09.611603. [PMID: 39314312 PMCID: PMC11419103 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.09.611603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Early-life musical engagement is an understudied but developmentally important and heritable precursor of later (social) communication and language abilities. This study aims to uncover the aetiological mechanisms linking musical to communication abilities. We derived polygenic scores (PGS) for self-reported beat synchronisation abilities (PGSrhythmicity) in children (N≤6,737) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and tested their association with preschool musical (0.5-5 years) and school-age (social) communication and cognition-related abilities (9-12 years). We further assessed whether relationships between preschool musicality and school-age communication are shared through PGSrhythmicity, using structural equation modelling techniques. PGSrhythmicity were associated with preschool musicality (Nagelkerke-R2=0.70-0.79%), and school-age communication and cognition-related abilities (R2=0.08-0.41%), but not social communication. We identified links between preschool musicality and school-age speech- and syntax-related communication abilities as captured by known genetic influences underlying rhythmicity (shared effect β=0.0065(SE=0.0021), p=0.0016), above and beyond general cognition, strengthening support for early music intervention programmes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía de Hoyos
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen Verhoef
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Aysu Okbay
- Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Janne R Vermeulen
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Celeste Figaroa
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Miriam Lense
- Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Reyna L Gordon
- Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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2
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Edalati M, Wallois F, Ghostine G, Kongolo G, Trainor LJ, Moghimi S. Neural oscillations suggest periodicity encoding during auditory beat processing in the premature brain. Dev Sci 2024:e13550. [PMID: 39010656 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
When exposed to rhythmic patterns with temporal regularity, adults exhibit an inherent ability to extract and anticipate an underlying sequence of regularly spaced beats, which is internally constructed, as beats are experienced even when no events occur at beat positions (e.g., in the case of rests). Perception of rhythm and synchronization to periodicity is indispensable for development of cognitive functions, social interaction, and adaptive behavior. We evaluated neural oscillatory activity in premature newborns (n = 19, mean age, 32 ± 2.59 weeks gestational age) during exposure to an auditory rhythmic sequence, aiming to identify early traces of periodicity encoding and rhythm processing through entrainment of neural oscillations at this stage of neurodevelopment. The rhythmic sequence elicited a systematic modulation of alpha power, synchronized to expected beat locations coinciding with both tones and rests, and independent of whether the beat was preceded by tone or rest. In addition, the periodic alpha-band fluctuations reached maximal power slightly before the corresponding beat onset times. Together, our results show neural encoding of periodicity in the premature brain involving neural oscillations in the alpha range that are much faster than the beat tempo, through alignment of alpha power to the beat tempo, consistent with observations in adults on predictive processing of temporal regularities in auditory rhythms. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: In response to the presented rhythmic pattern, systematic modulations of alpha power showed that the premature brain extracted the temporal regularity of the underlying beat. In contrast to evoked potentials, which are greatly reduced when there is no sounds event, the modulation of alpha power occurred for beats coinciding with both tones and rests in a predictive way. The findings provide the first evidence for the neural coding of periodicity in auditory rhythm perception before the age of term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammadreza Edalati
- Inserm UMR1105, Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, Université de Picardie Jules Verve, Amiens Cedex, France
| | - Fabrice Wallois
- Inserm UMR1105, Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, Université de Picardie Jules Verve, Amiens Cedex, France
- Inserm UMR1105, EFSN Pédiatriques, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens Cedex, France
| | - Ghida Ghostine
- Inserm UMR1105, Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, Université de Picardie Jules Verve, Amiens Cedex, France
| | - Guy Kongolo
- Inserm UMR1105, Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, Université de Picardie Jules Verve, Amiens Cedex, France
| | - Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sahar Moghimi
- Inserm UMR1105, Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, Université de Picardie Jules Verve, Amiens Cedex, France
- Inserm UMR1105, EFSN Pédiatriques, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens Cedex, France
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3
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Cirelli LK, Talukder LS, Kragness HE. Infant attention to rhythmic audiovisual synchrony is modulated by stimulus properties. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1393295. [PMID: 39027053 PMCID: PMC11256966 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1393295] [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: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Musical interactions are a common and multimodal part of an infant's daily experiences. Infants hear their parents sing while watching their lips move and see their older siblings dance along to music playing over the radio. Here, we explore whether 8- to 12-month-old infants associate musical rhythms they hear with synchronous visual displays by tracking their dynamic visual attention to matched and mismatched displays. Visual attention was measured using eye-tracking while they attended to a screen displaying two videos of a finger tapping at different speeds. These videos were presented side by side while infants listened to an auditory rhythm (high or low pitch) synchronized with one of the two videos. Infants attended more to the low-pitch trials than to the high-pitch trials but did not display a preference for attending to the synchronous hand over the asynchronous hand within trials. Exploratory evidence, however, suggests that tempo, pitch, and rhythmic complexity interactively engage infants' visual attention to a tapping hand, especially when that hand is aligned with the auditory stimulus. For example, when the rhythm was complex and the auditory stimulus was low in pitch, infants attended to the fast hand more when it aligned with the auditory stream than to misaligned trials. These results suggest that the audiovisual integration in rhythmic non-speech contexts is influenced by stimulus properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K. Cirelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Labeeb S. Talukder
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Haley E. Kragness
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Psychology Department, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, United States
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Monaci MG, Caruzzo CM, Raso R, Spagnuolo C, Benedetti MC, Grandjean D, Filippa M. Maternal singing reduced pain indexes in 2-month-old infants and increased proximity during vaccinations. Acta Paediatr 2024; 113:1664-1671. [PMID: 38264948 DOI: 10.1111/apa.17121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
AIM Immunisation is a global health priority, but methods of non-pharmacological pain relief are not widely used in routine clinical practice. In this study, we set out to investigate the effects of maternal singing during the routine vaccination of infants. METHODS We recruited 67 mother-infant pairs at Health Centres in the Aosta Region of Italy. Infants aged 2-4 months were randomly allocated to a singing intervention group or to a control group whose injections were administered following standard practice. Pre- and post-immunisation pain was blindly assessed using the Modified Behavioural Pain Scale, and mother-infant proximity indexes were assigned based on muted video-tracks. RESULTS When assessed for pain, the infants in the maternal singing group were assigned significantly lower movement indexes (p = 0.032) and marginally significantly lower cry indexes (p = 0.076). A higher frequency of mother-to-infant gaze (p < 0.005) was observed in the singing group dyads. Finally, the intervention group mothers' self-perceived ease in singing was correlated with their previous singing experience and with lower anxiety following the vaccination procedure (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Maternal singing during immunisation procedures benefits both mothers and babies. The practice of singing is a biologically rooted and adaptive form of intuitive parental communication that should be encouraged, especially in at-risk populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Romina Raso
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Valle D'Aosta, Aosta, Italy
| | | | | | - Didier Grandjean
- Swiss Center of Affective Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Manuela Filippa
- Swiss Center of Affective Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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5
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Smith AR, Salley B, Hanson-Abromeit D, Paluch RA, Engel H, Piazza J, Kong KL. The impact of a community-based music program during infancy on the quality of parent-child language interactions. Child Dev 2024; 95:481-496. [PMID: 37767574 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
The early language environment, especially high-quality, contingent parent-child language interactions, is crucial for a child's language development and later academic success. In this secondary analysis study, 89 parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either the Music Together® (music) or play date (control) classes. Children were 9- to 15-month old at baseline, primarily white (86.7%) and female (52%). Measures of conversational turns (CTs) and parental verbal quality were coded from parent-child free play episodes at baseline, mid-intervention (month 6), and post-intervention (month 12). Results show that participants in the music group had a significantly greater increase in CT measures and quality of parent verbalization post-intervention. Music enrichment programs may be a strategy to enhance parent-child language interactions during early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy R Smith
- Baby Health Behavior Lab, Division of Health Services and Outcomes Research, Children's Mercy Research Institute, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
| | - Brenda Salley
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | | | - Rocco A Paluch
- Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Hideko Engel
- Baby Health Behavior Lab, Division of Health Services and Outcomes Research, Children's Mercy Research Institute, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - Jacqueline Piazza
- Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Kai Ling Kong
- Baby Health Behavior Lab, Division of Health Services and Outcomes Research, Children's Mercy Research Institute, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
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6
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Punamäki RL, Diab SY, Drosos K, Qouta SR, Vänskä M. The role of acoustic features of maternal infant-directed singing in enhancing infant sensorimotor, language and socioemotional development. Infant Behav Dev 2024; 74:101908. [PMID: 37992456 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2023.101908] [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: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
The quality of infant-directed speech (IDS) and infant-directed singing (IDSi) are considered vital to children, but empirical studies on protomusical qualities of the IDSi influencing infant development are rare. The current prospective study examines the role of IDSi acoustic features, such as pitch variability, shape and movement, and vocal amplitude vibration, timbre, and resonance, in associating with infant sensorimotor, language, and socioemotional development at six and 18 months. The sample consists of 236 Palestinian mothers from Gaza Strip singing to their six-month-olds a song by their own choice. Maternal IDSi was recorded and analyzed by the OpenSMILE- tool to depict main acoustic features of pitch frequencies, variations, and contours, vocal intensity, resonance formants, and power. The results are based on completed 219 maternal IDSi. Mothers reported about their infants' sensorimotor, language-vocalization, and socioemotional skills at six months, and psychologists tested these skills by Bayley Scales for Infant Development at 18 months. Results show that maternal IDSi characterized by wide pitch variability and rich and high vocal amplitude and vibration were associated with infants' optimal sensorimotor, language vocalization, and socioemotional skills at six months, and rich and high vocal amplitude and vibration predicted these optimal developmental skills also at 18 months. High resonance and rhythmicity formants were associated with optimal language and vocalization skills at six months. To conclude, the IDSi is considered important in enhancing newborn and risk infants' wellbeing, and the current findings argue that favorable acoustic singing qualities are crucial for optimal multidomain development across infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raija-Leena Punamäki
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Finland.
| | - Safwat Y Diab
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Finland
| | - Konstantinos Drosos
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Finland; Nokia Research Center, Espoo, Finland
| | - Samir R Qouta
- Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Qatar
| | - Mervi Vänskä
- Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Finland
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7
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Fram NR, Liu T, Lense MD. Social interaction links active musical rhythm engagement and expressive communication in autistic toddlers. Autism Res 2024; 17:338-354. [PMID: 38197536 PMCID: PMC10922396 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Rhythm is implicated in both social and linguistic development. Rhythm perception and production skills are also key vulnerabilities in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism which impact social communication. However, direct links between musical rhythm engagement and expressive communication in autism is not clearly evident. This absence of a direct connection between rhythm and expressive communication indicates that the mechanism of action between rhythm and expressive communication may recruit other cognitive or developmental factors. We hypothesized that social interactions, including general interpersonal relationships and interactive music-making involving children and caregivers, were a significant such factor, particularly in autism. To test this, we collected data from parents of autistic and nonautistic children 14-36 months of age, including parent reports of their children's rhythmic musical engagement, general social skills, parent-child musical interactions, and expressive communication skills. Path analysis revealed a system of independent, indirect pathways from rhythmic musical engagement to expressive communication via social skills and parent-child musical interactions in autistic toddlers. Such a system implies both that social and musical interactions represent crucial links between rhythm and language and that different kinds of social interactions play parallel, independent roles linking rhythmic musical engagement with expressive communication skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah R. Fram
- Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
| | - Talia Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University
| | - Miriam D. Lense
- Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
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8
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Beker S, Molholm S. Do we all synch alike? Brain-body-environment interactions in ASD. Front Neural Circuits 2023; 17:1275896. [PMID: 38186630 PMCID: PMC10769494 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1275896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by rigidity of routines and restricted interests, and atypical social communication and interaction. Recent evidence for altered synchronization of neuro-oscillatory brain activity with regularities in the environment and of altered peripheral nervous system function in ASD present promising novel directions for studying pathophysiology and its relationship to ASD clinical phenotype. Human cognition and action are significantly influenced by physiological rhythmic processes that are generated by both the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Normally, perception occurs in a dynamic context, where brain oscillations and autonomic signals synchronize with external events to optimally receive temporally predictable rhythmic information, leading to improved performance. The recent findings on the time-sensitive coupling between the brain and the periphery in effective perception and successful social interactions in typically developed highlight studying the interactions within the brain-body-environment triad as a critical direction in the study of ASD. Here we offer a novel perspective of autism as a case where the temporal dynamics of brain-body-environment coupling is impaired. We present evidence from the literature to support the idea that in autism the nervous system fails to operate in an adaptive manner to synchronize with temporally predictable events in the environment to optimize perception and behavior. This framework could potentially lead to novel biomarkers of hallmark deficits in ASD such as cognitive rigidity and altered social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomit Beker
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
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9
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Nguyen T, Reisner S, Lueger A, Wass SV, Hoehl S, Markova G. Sing to me, baby: Infants show neural tracking and rhythmic movements to live and dynamic maternal singing. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 64:101313. [PMID: 37879243 PMCID: PMC10618693 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Infant-directed singing has unique acoustic characteristics that may allow even very young infants to respond to the rhythms carried through the caregiver's voice. The goal of this study was to examine neural and movement responses to live and dynamic maternal singing in 7-month-old infants and their relation to linguistic development. In total, 60 mother-infant dyads were observed during two singing conditions (playsong and lullaby). In Study 1 (n = 30), we measured infant EEG and used an encoding approach utilizing ridge regressions to measure neural tracking. In Study 2 (n =40), we coded infant rhythmic movements. In both studies, we assessed children's vocabulary when they were 20 months old. In Study 1, we found above-threshold neural tracking of maternal singing, with superior tracking of lullabies than playsongs. We also found that the acoustic features of infant-directed singing modulated tracking. In Study 2, infants showed more rhythmic movement to playsongs than lullabies. Importantly, neural coordination (Study 1) and rhythmic movement (Study 2) to playsongs were positively related to infants' expressive vocabulary at 20 months. These results highlight the importance of infants' brain and movement coordination to their caregiver's musical presentations, potentially as a function of musical variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trinh Nguyen
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Viale Regina Elena 291, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Susanne Reisner
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Anja Lueger
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Samuel V Wass
- Department of Psychology, University of East London, University Way, London E16 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gabriela Markova
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Institute for Early Life Care, Paracelsus Medical University, Strubergasse 13, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.
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10
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Nguyen T, Flaten E, Trainor LJ, Novembre G. Early social communication through music: State of the art and future perspectives. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 63:101279. [PMID: 37515832 PMCID: PMC10407289 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing body of research shows that the universal capacity for music perception and production emerges early in development. Possibly building on this predisposition, caregivers around the world often communicate with infants using songs or speech entailing song-like characteristics. This suggests that music might be one of the earliest developing and most accessible forms of interpersonal communication, providing a platform for studying early communicative behavior. However, little research has examined music in truly communicative contexts. The current work aims to facilitate the development of experimental approaches that rely on dynamic and naturalistic social interactions. We first review two longstanding lines of research that examine musical interactions by focusing either on the caregiver or the infant. These include defining the acoustic and non-acoustic features that characterize infant-directed (ID) music, as well as behavioral and neurophysiological research examining infants' processing of musical timing and pitch. Next, we review recent studies looking at early musical interactions holistically. This research focuses on how caregivers and infants interact using music to achieve co-regulation, mutual engagement, and increase affiliation and prosocial behavior. We conclude by discussing methodological, technological, and analytical advances that might empower a comprehensive study of musical communication in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trinh Nguyen
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy.
| | - Erica Flaten
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Laurel J Trainor
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Canada
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
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11
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Mehr SA, Bortfeld H. Music, a piece of many puzzles in developmental science. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13438. [PMID: 37501524 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Mehr
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Heather Bortfeld
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Merced, Merced, California, USA
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California at Merced, Merced, California, USA
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12
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Alviar C, Sahoo M, Edwards L, Jones W, Klin A, Lense M. Infant-directed song potentiates infants' selective attention to adults' mouths over the first year of life. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13359. [PMID: 36527322 PMCID: PMC10276172 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The mechanisms by which infant-directed (ID) speech and song support language development in infancy are poorly understood, with most prior investigations focused on the auditory components of these signals. However, the visual components of ID communication are also of fundamental importance for language learning: over the first year of life, infants' visual attention to caregivers' faces during ID speech switches from a focus on the eyes to a focus on the mouth, which provides synchronous visual cues that support speech and language development. Caregivers' facial displays during ID song are highly effective for sustaining infants' attention. Here we investigate if ID song specifically enhances infants' attention to caregivers' mouths. 299 typically developing infants watched clips of female actors engaging them with ID song and speech longitudinally at six time points from 3 to 12 months of age while eye-tracking data was collected. Infants' mouth-looking significantly increased over the first year of life with a significantly greater increase during ID song versus speech. This difference was early-emerging (evident in the first 6 months of age) and sustained over the first year. Follow-up analyses indicated specific properties inherent to ID song (e.g., slower tempo, reduced rhythmic variability) in part contribute to infants' increased mouth-looking, with effects increasing with age. The exaggerated and expressive facial features that naturally accompany ID song may make it a particularly effective context for modulating infants' visual attention and supporting speech and language development in both typically developing infants and those with or at risk for communication challenges. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/SZ8xQW8h93A. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Infants' visual attention to adults' mouths during infant-directed speech has been found to support speech and language development. Infant-directed (ID) song promotes mouth-looking by infants to a greater extent than does ID speech across the first year of life. Features characteristic of ID song such as slower tempo, increased rhythmicity, increased audiovisual synchrony, and increased positive affect, all increase infants' attention to the mouth. The effects of song on infants' attention to the mouth are more prominent during the second half of the first year of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Alviar
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Manash Sahoo
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Laura Edwards
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Warren Jones
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ami Klin
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Miriam Lense
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Birulés J, Goupil L, Josse J, Fort M. The Role of Talking Faces in Infant Language Learning: Mind the Gap between Screen-Based Settings and Real-Life Communicative Interactions. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1167. [PMID: 37626523 PMCID: PMC10452843 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13081167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the last few decades, developmental (psycho) linguists have demonstrated that perceiving talking faces audio-visually is important for early language acquisition. Using mostly well-controlled and screen-based laboratory approaches, this line of research has shown that paying attention to talking faces is likely to be one of the powerful strategies infants use to learn their native(s) language(s). In this review, we combine evidence from these screen-based studies with another line of research that has studied how infants learn novel words and deploy their visual attention during naturalistic play. In our view, this is an important step toward developing an integrated account of how infants effectively extract audiovisual information from talkers' faces during early language learning. We identify three factors that have been understudied so far, despite the fact that they are likely to have an important impact on how infants deploy their attention (or not) toward talking faces during social interactions: social contingency, speaker characteristics, and task- dependencies. Last, we propose ideas to address these issues in future research, with the aim of reducing the existing knowledge gap between current experimental studies and the many ways infants can and do effectively rely upon the audiovisual information extracted from talking faces in their real-life language environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Birulés
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, CNRS UMR 5105, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38058 Grenoble, France; (L.G.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Louise Goupil
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, CNRS UMR 5105, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38058 Grenoble, France; (L.G.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Jérémie Josse
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, CNRS UMR 5105, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38058 Grenoble, France; (L.G.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
| | - Mathilde Fort
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition, CNRS UMR 5105, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38058 Grenoble, France; (L.G.); (J.J.); (M.F.)
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028-CNRS UMR 5292, Université Lyon 1, 69500 Bron, France
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Fiveash A, Ferreri L, Bouwer FL, Kösem A, Moghimi S, Ravignani A, Keller PE, Tillmann B. Can rhythm-mediated reward boost learning, memory, and social connection? Perspectives for future research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 149:105153. [PMID: 37019245 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
Studies of rhythm processing and of reward have progressed separately, with little connection between the two. However, consistent links between rhythm and reward are beginning to surface, with research suggesting that synchronization to rhythm is rewarding, and that this rewarding element may in turn also boost this synchronization. The current mini review shows that the combined study of rhythm and reward can be beneficial to better understand their independent and combined roles across two central aspects of cognition: 1) learning and memory, and 2) social connection and interpersonal synchronization; which have so far been studied largely independently. From this basis, it is discussed how connections between rhythm and reward can be applied to learning and memory and social connection across different populations, taking into account individual differences, clinical populations, human development, and animal research. Future research will need to consider the rewarding nature of rhythm, and that rhythm can in turn boost reward, potentially enhancing other cognitive and social processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Fiveash
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France; University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - L Ferreri
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France
| | - F L Bouwer
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A Kösem
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France
| | - S Moghimi
- Groupe de Recherches sur l'Analyse Multimodale de la Fonction Cérébrale, INSERM U1105, Amiens, France
| | - A Ravignani
- Comparative Bioacoustics Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - P E Keller
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - B Tillmann
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CRNL, CNRS, UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, F-69000 Lyon, France; University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France; Laboratory for Research on Learning and Development, LEAD - CNRS UMR5022, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France
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Abstract
Infant-directed singing is a culturally universal musical phenomenon known to promote the bonding of infants and caregivers. Entrainment is a widely observed physical phenomenon by which diverse physical systems adjust rhythmic activity through interaction. Here we show that the simple act of infant-directed singing entrains infant social visual behavior on subsecond timescales, increasing infants' looking to the eyes of a singing caregiver: as early as 2 months of age, and doubling in strength by 6 months, infants synchronize their eye-looking to the rhythm of infant-directed singing. Rhythmic entrainment also structures caregivers' own cueing, enhancing their visual display of social-communicative content: caregivers increase wide-eyed positive affect, reduce neutral facial affect, reduce eye motion, and reduce blinking, all in time with the rhythm of their singing and aligned in time with moments when infants increase their eye-looking. In addition, if the rhythm of infant-directed singing is experimentally disrupted-reducing its predictability-then infants' time-locked eye-looking is also disrupted. These results reveal generic processes of entrainment as a fundamental coupling mechanism by which the rhythm of infant-directed singing attunes infants to precisely timed social-communicative content and supports social learning and development.
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