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MacLean J, Stirn J, Sisson A, Bidelman GM. Short- and long-term neuroplasticity interact during the perceptual learning of concurrent speech. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad543. [PMID: 38212291 PMCID: PMC10839853 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad543] [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: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Plasticity from auditory experience shapes the brain's encoding and perception of sound. However, whether such long-term plasticity alters the trajectory of short-term plasticity during speech processing has yet to be investigated. Here, we explored the neural mechanisms and interplay between short- and long-term neuroplasticity for rapid auditory perceptual learning of concurrent speech sounds in young, normal-hearing musicians and nonmusicians. Participants learned to identify double-vowel mixtures during ~ 45 min training sessions recorded simultaneously with high-density electroencephalography (EEG). We analyzed frequency-following responses (FFRs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate neural correlates of learning at subcortical and cortical levels, respectively. Although both groups showed rapid perceptual learning, musicians showed faster behavioral decisions than nonmusicians overall. Learning-related changes were not apparent in brainstem FFRs. However, plasticity was highly evident in cortex, where ERPs revealed unique hemispheric asymmetries between groups suggestive of different neural strategies (musicians: right hemisphere bias; nonmusicians: left hemisphere). Source reconstruction and the early (150-200 ms) time course of these effects localized learning-induced cortical plasticity to auditory-sensory brain areas. Our findings reinforce the domain-general benefits of musicianship but reveal that successful speech sound learning is driven by a critical interplay between long- and short-term mechanisms of auditory plasticity, which first emerge at a cortical level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica MacLean
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Jack Stirn
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Alexandria Sisson
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Gavin M Bidelman
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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2
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Shen D, Ross B, Alain C. Temporal deployment of attention in musicians: Evidence from an attentional blink paradigm. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023; 1530:110-123. [PMID: 37823710 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15069] [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] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
The generalization of music training to unrelated nonmusical domains is well established and may reflect musicians' superior ability to regulate attention. We investigated the temporal deployment of attention in musicians and nonmusicians using scalp-recording of event-related potentials in an attentional blink (AB) paradigm. Participants listened to rapid sequences of stimuli and identified target and probe sounds. The AB was defined as a probe identification deficit when the probe closely follows the target. The sequence of stimuli was preceded by a neutral or informative cue about the probe position within the sequence. Musicians outperformed nonmusicians in identifying the target and probe. In both groups, cueing improved target and probe identification and reduced the AB. The informative cue elicited a sustained potential, which was more prominent in musicians than nonmusicians over left temporal areas and yielded a larger N1 amplitude elicited by the target. The N1 was larger in musicians than nonmusicians, and its amplitude over the left frontocentral cortex of musicians correlated with accuracy. Together, these results reveal musicians' superior ability to regulate attention, allowing them to prepare for incoming stimuli, thereby improving sound object identification. This capacity to manage attentional resources to optimize task performance may generalize to nonmusical activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawei Shen
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Bernhard Ross
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Claude Alain
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Music and Health Science Research Collaboratory, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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3
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MacLean J, Stirn J, Sisson A, Bidelman GM. Short- and long-term experience-dependent neuroplasticity interact during the perceptual learning of concurrent speech. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.26.559640. [PMID: 37808665 PMCID: PMC10557636 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.26.559640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Plasticity from auditory experiences shapes brain encoding and perception of sound. However, whether such long-term plasticity alters the trajectory of short-term plasticity during speech processing has yet to be investigated. Here, we explored the neural mechanisms and interplay between short- and long-term neuroplasticity for rapid auditory perceptual learning of concurrent speech sounds in young, normal-hearing musicians and nonmusicians. Participants learned to identify double-vowel mixtures during ∼45 minute training sessions recorded simultaneously with high-density EEG. We analyzed frequency-following responses (FFRs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate neural correlates of learning at subcortical and cortical levels, respectively. While both groups showed rapid perceptual learning, musicians showed faster behavioral decisions than nonmusicians overall. Learning-related changes were not apparent in brainstem FFRs. However, plasticity was highly evident in cortex, where ERPs revealed unique hemispheric asymmetries between groups suggestive of different neural strategies (musicians: right hemisphere bias; nonmusicians: left hemisphere). Source reconstruction and the early (150-200 ms) time course of these effects localized learning-induced cortical plasticity to auditory-sensory brain areas. Our findings confirm domain-general benefits for musicianship but reveal successful speech sound learning is driven by a critical interplay between long- and short-term mechanisms of auditory plasticity that first emerge at a cortical level.
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Elmer S, Kurthen I, Meyer M, Giroud N. A multidimensional characterization of the neurocognitive architecture underlying age-related temporal speech processing. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120285. [PMID: 37481009 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120285] [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: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Healthy aging is often associated with speech comprehension difficulties in everyday life situations despite a pure-tone hearing threshold in the normative range. Drawing on this background, we used a multidimensional approach to assess the functional and structural neural correlates underlying age-related temporal speech processing while controlling for pure-tone hearing acuity. Accordingly, we combined structural magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, and collected behavioral data while younger and older adults completed a phonetic categorization and discrimination task with consonant-vowel syllables varying along a voice-onset time continuum. The behavioral results confirmed age-related temporal speech processing singularities which were reflected in a shift of the boundary of the psychometric categorization function, with older adults perceiving more syllable characterized by a short voice-onset time as /ta/ compared to younger adults. Furthermore, despite the absence of any between-group differences in phonetic discrimination abilities, older adults demonstrated longer N100/P200 latencies as well as increased P200 amplitudes while processing the consonant-vowel syllables varying in voice-onset time. Finally, older adults also exhibited a divergent anatomical gray matter infrastructure in bilateral auditory-related and frontal brain regions, as manifested in reduced cortical thickness and surface area. Notably, in the younger adults but not in the older adult cohort, cortical surface area in these two gross anatomical clusters correlated with the categorization of consonant-vowel syllables characterized by a short voice-onset time, suggesting the existence of a critical gray matter threshold that is crucial for consistent mapping of phonetic categories varying along the temporal dimension. Taken together, our results highlight the multifaceted dimensions of age-related temporal speech processing characteristics, and pave the way toward a better understanding of the relationships between hearing, speech and the brain in older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Department of Computational Linguistics, Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Competence center Language & Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Ira Kurthen
- Department of Computational Linguistics, Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Meyer
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Neuroscience Zurich, University and ETH of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Cognitive Psychology Unit, Alpen-Adria University, Klagenfurt, Austria
| | - Nathalie Giroud
- Department of Computational Linguistics, Computational Neuroscience of Speech & Hearing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Neuroscience Zurich, University and ETH of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Competence center Language & Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Sun Y, Jiang X, Xia L, Tang X, Wu H, Zhou H, Feng Y, Zheng Z, Dong H. Effect of Combining Sound Therapy with Pharmacotherapy on the Recovery of Hearing Abilities in the Case of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Prospective Study. Adv Ther 2022; 39:5401-5412. [PMID: 36151448 DOI: 10.1007/s12325-022-02312-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This study investigated the effect of sound therapy combined with drug therapy (SDT) on gap detection threshold and speech recognition scores in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). METHODS Patients with SSNHL were grouped randomly into SDT and drug therapy (DT) groups. All patients received standard drug treatment and patients in the SDT group additionally received sound stimulation for the affected ears for 6 days. Pure tone audiogram, speech recognition scores at normal and time-compressed rates under quiet and noisy conditions, and the gap detection threshold of the SDT and DT groups before treatment and on day 6 and 30 after treatment were compared. RESULTS There were 20 patients in the SDT group and 24 in the DT group. The pure tone thresholds of affected ears were significantly lower in the SDT group on day 6 after treatment than those in the DT group at 125 and 250 Hz. Significantly lower gap detection thresholds and higher speech recognition scores under noisy conditions were observed at the normal and time-compressed rates in the SDT group than those in the DT group on day 6 and 30 after treatment. Significant correlations were observed between the gap thresholds and speech recognition scores in a noisy environment at normal and time-compressed rates on day 6 and 30. CONCLUSIONS SDT may improve the recovery of hearing abilities, such as the gap in noise thresholds and speech recognition in noise, in the case of SSNHL. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ChiCTR-IOR-17012262.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Sun
- Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450053, Henan Province, China.,Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Xiaodan Jiang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Daqing Longnan Hospital, Daqing, 163000, Heilongjiang Province, China
| | - Liang Xia
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Xulan Tang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Hongmin Wu
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Huiqun Zhou
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Yanmei Feng
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Zhong Zheng
- Department of Otolaryngology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200233, China.
| | - Hongjun Dong
- Department of Otolaryngology, Zhangjiagang TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Zhangjiagang, 215600, Jiangsu Province, China.
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tDCS modulates speech perception and production in second language learners. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16212. [PMID: 36171463 PMCID: PMC9519965 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20512-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate identification and pronunciation of nonnative speech sounds can be particularly challenging for adult language learners. The current study tested the effects of a brief musical training combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on speech perception and production in a second language (L2). The sample comprised 36 native Hebrew speakers, aged 18-38, who studied English as L2 in a formal setting and had little musical training. Training encompassed musical perception tasks with feedback (i.e., timbre, duration, and tonal memory) and concurrent tDCS applied over the left posterior auditory-related cortex (including posterior superior temporal gyrus and planum temporale). Participants were randomly assigned to anodal or sham stimulation. Musical perception, L2 speech perception (measured by a categorical AXB discrimination task) and speech production (measured by a speech imitation task) were tested before and after training. There were no tDCS-dependent effects on musical perception post-training. However, only participants who received active stimulation showed increased accuracy of L2 phoneme discrimination and greater change in the acoustic properties of L2 speech sound production (i.e., second formant frequency in vowels and center of gravity in consonants). The results of this study suggest neuromodulation can facilitate the processing of nonnative speech sounds in adult learners.
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Frey A, Barbaroux M, Dittinger E, Besson M. Effects of Psychoacoustic Training on the Pre-Attentive Processing of Harmonic Sounds and Syllables. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:2003-2015. [PMID: 35503959 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-21-00441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This article aimed at investigating the neural underpinnings of music-to-language transfer effects at the pre-attentive level of processing. METHOD We conducted a longitudinal experiment with a test-training-retest procedure. Nonmusician adults were trained either on frequency (experimental group) or on intensity (control group) of harmonic tones using methods from psychophysics. Pre- and posttraining, we recorded brain electrical activity and we analyzed the mismatch negativity (MMN) and the P3a component both to harmonic complex sounds and to syllables varying in frequency. RESULTS Frequency training influenced the pre-attentive perception of pitch for large harmonic deviant sounds but not for syllables. CONCLUSION Results are discussed in terms of near and far transfer effects from psychoacoustic training to pre-attentive pitch processing and as possibly showing some limits to transfer effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Frey
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC), CNRS, and Aix-Marseille University, Université Publique de France
- Institute for Language and Communication in the Brain (ILCB), Aix-Marseille University, France
| | - Mylène Barbaroux
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC), CNRS, and Aix-Marseille University, Université Publique de France
| | - Eva Dittinger
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC), CNRS, and Aix-Marseille University, Université Publique de France
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL), CNRS, and Aix-Marseille University, Université Publique de France
| | - Mireille Besson
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC), CNRS, and Aix-Marseille University, Université Publique de France
- Institute for Language and Communication in the Brain (ILCB), Aix-Marseille University, France
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Smit EA, Milne AJ, Escudero P. Music Perception Abilities and Ambiguous Word Learning: Is There Cross-Domain Transfer in Nonmusicians? Front Psychol 2022; 13:801263. [PMID: 35401340 PMCID: PMC8984940 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.801263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception of music and speech is based on similar auditory skills, and it is often suggested that those with enhanced music perception skills may perceive and learn novel words more easily. The current study tested whether music perception abilities are associated with novel word learning in an ambiguous learning scenario. Using a cross-situational word learning (CSWL) task, nonmusician adults were exposed to word-object pairings between eight novel words and visual referents. Novel words were either non-minimal pairs differing in all sounds or minimal pairs differing in their initial consonant or vowel. In order to be successful in this task, learners need to be able to correctly encode the phonological details of the novel words and have sufficient auditory working memory to remember the correct word-object pairings. Using the Mistuning Perception Test (MPT) and the Melodic Discrimination Test (MDT), we measured learners’ pitch perception and auditory working memory. We predicted that those with higher MPT and MDT values would perform better in the CSWL task and in particular for novel words with high phonological overlap (i.e., minimal pairs). We found that higher musical perception skills led to higher accuracy for non-minimal pairs and minimal pairs differing in their initial consonant. Interestingly, this was not the case for vowel minimal pairs. We discuss the results in relation to theories of second language word learning such as the Second Language Perception model (L2LP).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline A. Smit
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- *Correspondence: Eline A. Smit,
| | - Andrew J. Milne
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Mathematical Modeling of Brain Activity under Specific Auditory Stimulation. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2021; 2021:6676681. [PMID: 33976707 PMCID: PMC8084686 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6676681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the connection between different stimuli and the brain response represents a complex research area. However, the use of mathematical models for this purpose is relatively unexplored. The present study investigates the effects of three different auditory stimuli on cerebral biopotentials by means of mathematical functions. The effects of acoustic stimuli (S1, S2, and S3) on cerebral activity were evaluated by electroencephalographic (EEG) recording on 21 subjects for 20 minutes of stimulation, with a 5-minute period of silence before and after stimulation. For the construction of the mathematical models used for the study of the EEG rhythms, we used the Box-Jenkins methodology. Characteristic mathematical models were obtained for the main frequency bands and were expressed by 2 constant functions, 8 first-degree functions, a second-degree function, a fourth-degree function, 6 recursive functions, and 4 periodic functions. The values obtained for the variance estimator are low, demonstrating that the obtained models are correct. The resulting mathematical models allow us to objectively compare the EEG response to the three stimuli, both between the stimuli itself and between each stimulus and the period before stimulation.
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10
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Bourke JD, Todd J. Acoustics versus linguistics? Context is Part and Parcel to lateralized processing of the parts and parcels of speech. Laterality 2021; 26:725-765. [PMID: 33726624 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2021.1898415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this review is to provide an accessible exploration of key considerations of lateralization in speech and non-speech perception using clear and defined language. From these considerations, the primary arguments for each side of the linguistics versus acoustics debate are outlined and explored in context of emerging integrative theories. This theoretical approach entails a perspective that linguistic and acoustic features differentially contribute to leftward bias, depending on the given context. Such contextual factors include stimulus parameters and variables of stimulus presentation (e.g., noise/silence and monaural/binaural) and variances in individuals (sex, handedness, age, and behavioural ability). Discussion of these factors and their interaction is also aimed towards providing an outline of variables that require consideration when developing and reviewing methodology of acoustic and linguistic processing laterality studies. Thus, there are three primary aims in the present paper: (1) to provide the reader with key theoretical perspectives from the acoustics/linguistics debate and a synthesis of the two viewpoints, (2) to highlight key caveats for generalizing findings regarding predominant models of speech laterality, and (3) to provide a practical guide for methodological control using predominant behavioural measures (i.e., gap detection and dichotic listening tasks) and/or neurophysiological measures (i.e., mismatch negativity) of speech laterality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse D Bourke
- School of Psychology, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Juanita Todd
- School of Psychology, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
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11
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Auditory categorical processing for speech is modulated by inherent musical listening skills. Neuroreport 2021; 31:162-166. [PMID: 31834142 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
During successful auditory perception, the human brain classifies diverse acoustic information into meaningful groupings, a process known as categorical perception (CP). Intense auditory experiences (e.g., musical training and language expertise) shape categorical representations necessary for speech identification and novel sound-to-meaning learning, but little is known concerning the role of innate auditory function in CP. Here, we tested whether listeners vary in their intrinsic abilities to categorize complex sounds and individual differences in the underlying auditory brain mechanisms. To this end, we recorded EEGs in individuals without formal music training but who differed in their inherent auditory perceptual abilities (i.e., musicality) as they rapidly categorized sounds along a speech vowel continuum. Behaviorally, individuals with naturally more adept listening skills ("musical sleepers") showed enhanced speech categorization in the form of faster identification. At the neural level, inverse modeling parsed EEG data into different sources to evaluate the contribution of region-specific activity [i.e., auditory cortex (AC)] to categorical neural coding. We found stronger categorical processing in musical sleepers around the timeframe of P2 (~180 ms) in the right AC compared to those with poorer musical listening abilities. Our data show that listeners with naturally more adept auditory skills map sound to meaning more efficiently than their peers, which may aid novel sound learning related to language and music acquisition.
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12
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Dittinger E, Korka B, Besson M. Evidence for Enhanced Long-term Memory in Professional Musicians and Its Contribution to Novel Word Learning. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 33:662-682. [PMID: 33378241 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies evidenced transfer effects from professional music training to novel word learning. However, it is unclear whether such an advantage is driven by cascading, bottom-up effects from better auditory perception to semantic processing or by top-down influences from cognitive functions on perception. Moreover, the long-term effects of novel word learning remain an open issue. To address these questions, we used a word learning design, with four different sets of novel words, and we neutralized the potential perceptive and associative learning advantages in musicians. Under such conditions, we did not observe any advantage in musicians on the day of learning (Day 1 [D1]), at neither a behavioral nor an electrophysiological level; this suggests that the previously reported advantages in musicians are likely to be related to bottom-up processes. Nevertheless, 1 month later (Day 30 [D30]) and for all types of novel words, the error increase from D1 to D30 was lower in musicians compared to nonmusicians. In addition, for the set of words that were perceptually difficult to discriminate, only musicians showed typical N400 effects over parietal sites on D30. These results demonstrate that music training improved long-term memory and that transfer effects from music training to word learning (i.e., semantic levels of speech processing) benefit from reinforced (long-term) memory functions. Finally, these findings highlight the positive impact of music training on the acquisition of foreign languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dittinger
- Université Publique de France, CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC).,Université Publique de France, CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL).,Institute for Language and Communication in the Brain, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Betina Korka
- Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology - Wilhelm Wundt, Leipzig University, Germany
| | - Mireille Besson
- Université Publique de France, CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC).,Institute for Language and Communication in the Brain, Aix-en-Provence, France
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13
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Dittinger E, Scherer J, Jäncke L, Besson M, Elmer S. Testing the influence of musical expertise on novel word learning across the lifespan using a cross-sectional approach in children, young adults and older adults. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2019; 198:104678. [PMID: 31450024 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Word learning is a multifaceted perceptual and cognitive task that is omnipresent in everyday life. Currently, it is unclear whether this ability is influenced by age, musical expertise or both variables. Accordingly, we used EEG and compared behavioral and electrophysiological indices of word learning between older adults with and without musical expertise (older adults' perspective) as well as between musically trained and untrained children, young adults, and older adults (lifespan perspective). Results of the older adults' perspective showed that the ability to learn new words is preserved in elderly, however, without a beneficial influence of musical expertise. Otherwise, results of the lifespan perspective revealed lower error rates and faster reaction times in young adults compared to children and older adults. Furthermore, musically trained children and young adults outperformed participants without musical expertise, and this advantage was accompanied by EEG manifestations reflecting faster learning and neural facilitation in accessing lexical-semantic representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dittinger
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), Marseille, France; CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL, UMR 7309), Aix-en-Provence, France; Brain and Language Research Institute (BLRI), Aix-en-Provence, France.
| | - Johanna Scherer
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland; University Research Priority Program (URRP) "Dynamic of Healthy Aging", Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Mireille Besson
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), Marseille, France.
| | - Stefan Elmer
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
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14
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Bidelman GM, Walker B. Plasticity in auditory categorization is supported by differential engagement of the auditory-linguistic network. Neuroimage 2019; 201:116022. [PMID: 31310863 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
To construct our perceptual world, the brain categorizes variable sensory cues into behaviorally-relevant groupings. Categorical representations are apparent within a distributed fronto-temporo-parietal brain network but how this neural circuitry is shaped by experience remains undefined. Here, we asked whether speech and music categories might be formed within different auditory-linguistic brain regions depending on listeners' auditory expertise. We recorded EEG in highly skilled (musicians) vs. less experienced (nonmusicians) perceivers as they rapidly categorized speech and musical sounds. Musicians showed perceptual enhancements across domains, yet source EEG data revealed a double dissociation in the neurobiological mechanisms supporting categorization between groups. Whereas musicians coded categories in primary auditory cortex (PAC), nonmusicians recruited non-auditory regions (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus, IFG) to generate category-level information. Functional connectivity confirmed nonmusicians' increased left IFG involvement reflects stronger routing of signal from PAC directed to IFG, presumably because sensory coding is insufficient to construct categories in less experienced listeners. Our findings establish auditory experience modulates specific engagement and inter-regional communication in the auditory-linguistic network supporting categorical perception. Whereas early canonical PAC representations are sufficient to generate categories in highly trained ears, less experienced perceivers broadcast information downstream to higher-order linguistic brain areas (IFG) to construct abstract sound labels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Bidelman
- Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; School of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Breya Walker
- Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA; Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA
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15
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Arkin C, Przysinda E, Pfeifer CW, Zeng T, Loui P. Gray Matter Correlates of Creativity in Musical Improvisation. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:169. [PMID: 31191276 PMCID: PMC6538978 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Creativity has been defined as requiring both novelty and effectiveness, but little is known about how this standard definition applies in music. Here, we present results from a pilot study in which we combine behavioral testing in musical improvisation and structural neuroimaging to relate brain structure to performance in a creative musical improvisation task. Thirty-eight subjects completed a novel improvisation continuation task and underwent T1 MRI. Recorded performances were rated by expert jazz instructors for creativity. Voxel-based morphometric analyses on T1 data showed that creativity ratings were negatively associated with gray matter volume in the right inferior temporal gyrus and bilateral hippocampus. The duration of improvisation training, which was significantly correlated with creativity ratings, was negatively associated with gray matter volume in the rolandic operculum. Together, results show that musical improvisation ability and training are associated with gray matter volume in regions that are previously linked to learning and memory formation, perceptual categorization, and sensory integration. The present study takes a first step towards understanding the neuroanatomical basis of musical creativity by relating creative musical improvisation to individual differences in gray matter structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Arkin
- Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, United States
| | - Emily Przysinda
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Charles W Pfeifer
- Department of Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Tima Zeng
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Psyche Loui
- Department of Music, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience and Behavior, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, United States
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16
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Li Q, Wang X, Wang S, Xie Y, Li X, Xie Y, Li S. Dynamic reconfiguration of the functional brain network after musical training in young adults. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:1781-1795. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01867-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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17
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Decrypting the electrophysiological individuality of the human brain: Identification of individuals based on resting-state EEG activity. Neuroimage 2019; 197:470-481. [PMID: 30978497 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Biometric identification (BI) of individuals is a fast-growing field of research that is producing increasingly sophisticated applications in several spheres of everyday life. Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated that based on the high inter-individual variability of brain structure and function, it is possible to identify individuals with high accuracy. Otherwise, there is the common belief that electroencephalographic (EEG) data recorded at the surface of the scalp are too noisy for identification purposes with a comparably high hit rate. In the present work, we compared BI quality (F1-scores, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity) between different types of functional (instantaneous, lagged, and total coherence, phase synchronization, correlation, and mutual information) and effective (Granger causality, phase synchronization, and coherence) connectivity measures. Results revealed that across functional connectivity metrics, identification accuracy was in the range of 0.98-1, whereas sensitivity and F1-scores were between 0.00 and 1 and specificity was between 0.99 and 1. BI was higher for the connectivity metrics that are contaminated by volume conduction (instantaneous connectivity) compared to those that are unaffected by this variable (lagged connectivity). Support vector machine and neural network algorithms yielded the highest BI, followed by random forest and weighted k-nearest neighborhood, whereas linear discriminant analysis was less accurate. These results provide cross-validated counterevidence to the belief that EEG data are too noisy for identification purposes and demonstrate that functional and effective connectivity metrics are particularly suited for BI applications with comparable accuracy to MRI. Our results have important implications for fast, low-cost, and mobile BI applications.
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18
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Chen F, Peng G. Lower-level acoustics underlie higher-level phonological categories in lexical tone perception. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 144:EL158. [PMID: 30424632 DOI: 10.1121/1.5052205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The pitch-processing deficit associated with congenital amusia has been shown to be transferable to lexical tone processing. However, it remains unclear whether the tone perception difficulties of amusics are merely due to the domain-general deficit in acoustic processing or additionally caused by impaired higher-level phonological operations. Answers to this question can shed light on the influence of lower-level acoustic processing on higher-level phonological processing. Using a modified categorical perception paradigm, the present study indicates that the acoustic processing deficit systematically extends to higher-level phonological processing. These findings suggest that lower-level acoustics underlie higher-level phonological categories in lexical tone perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ,
| | - Gang Peng
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ,
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19
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Klein C, Metz SI, Elmer S, Jäncke L. The interpreter's brain during rest - Hyperconnectivity in the frontal lobe. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202600. [PMID: 30138477 PMCID: PMC6107212 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Language in its highest complexity is a unique human faculty with simultaneous translation being among the most demanding language task involving both linguistic and executive functions. In this context, bilingually grown up individuals as well as simultaneous interpreters (SIs) represent appropriate groups for studying expertise-related neural adaptations in the human brain. The present study was performed to examine if a domain-specific neural network activation pattern, constituted by brain regions involved in speech processing as well as cognitive control mechanisms can be detected during a task-free resting state condition. To investigate this, electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded from 16 SIs and 16 age and gender-matched multilingual control subjects. Graph-theoretical network analyses revealed interhemispheric hyperconnectivity between the ventral part of the prefrontal cortex (pars opercularis and pars triangularis) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in language experts compared to multilingual controls in the alpha frequency range. This finding suggests that the high cognitive demands placed on simultaneous interpreting lead to an increased neural communication between prefrontal brain regions essentially engaged in supporting executive control—a neural fingerprint that is even detectable during rest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Klein
- Division of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - Silvana Iris Metz
- Division of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Elmer
- Division of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division of Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center (INAPIC), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Program (URPP), Dynamic of Healthy Aging, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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20
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Daikoku T. Neurophysiological Markers of Statistical Learning in Music and Language: Hierarchy, Entropy, and Uncertainty. Brain Sci 2018; 8:E114. [PMID: 29921829 PMCID: PMC6025354 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci8060114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Statistical learning (SL) is a method of learning based on the transitional probabilities embedded in sequential phenomena such as music and language. It has been considered an implicit and domain-general mechanism that is innate in the human brain and that functions independently of intention to learn and awareness of what has been learned. SL is an interdisciplinary notion that incorporates information technology, artificial intelligence, musicology, and linguistics, as well as psychology and neuroscience. A body of recent study has suggested that SL can be reflected in neurophysiological responses based on the framework of information theory. This paper reviews a range of work on SL in adults and children that suggests overlapping and independent neural correlations in music and language, and that indicates disability of SL. Furthermore, this article discusses the relationships between the order of transitional probabilities (TPs) (i.e., hierarchy of local statistics) and entropy (i.e., global statistics) regarding SL strategies in human's brains; claims importance of information-theoretical approaches to understand domain-general, higher-order, and global SL covering both real-world music and language; and proposes promising approaches for the application of therapy and pedagogy from various perspectives of psychology, neuroscience, computational studies, musicology, and linguistics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Daikoku
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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21
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Dittinger E, D'Imperio M, Besson M. Enhanced neural and behavioural processing of a nonnative phonemic contrast in professional musicians. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:1504-1516. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Revised: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dittinger
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291); Marseille France
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université; Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL, UMR 7309); Aix-en-Provence France
- Brain and Language Research Institute (BLRI); Aix-en-Provence France
| | - Mariapaola D'Imperio
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université; Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL, UMR 7309); Aix-en-Provence France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF); Paris France
| | - Mireille Besson
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Université; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291); Marseille France
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22
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Theta Coherence Asymmetry in the Dorsal Stream of Musicians Facilitates Word Learning. Sci Rep 2018; 8:4565. [PMID: 29545619 PMCID: PMC5854697 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22942-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Word learning constitutes a human faculty which is dependent upon two anatomically distinct processing streams projecting from posterior superior temporal (pST) and inferior parietal (IP) brain regions toward the prefrontal cortex (dorsal stream) and the temporal pole (ventral stream). The ventral stream is involved in mapping sensory and phonological information onto lexical-semantic representations, whereas the dorsal stream contributes to sound-to-motor mapping, articulation, complex sequencing in the verbal domain, and to how verbal information is encoded, stored, and rehearsed from memory. In the present source-based EEG study, we evaluated functional connectivity between the IP lobe and Broca's area while musicians and non-musicians learned pseudowords presented in the form of concatenated auditory streams. Behavioral results demonstrated that musicians outperformed non-musicians, as reflected by a higher sensitivity index (d'). This behavioral superiority was paralleled by increased left-hemispheric theta coherence in the dorsal stream, whereas non-musicians showed stronger functional connectivity in the right hemisphere. Since no between-group differences were observed in a passive listening control condition nor during rest, results point to a task-specific intertwining between musical expertise, functional connectivity, and word learning.
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23
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Elmer S, Jäncke L. Relationships between music training, speech processing, and word learning: a network perspective. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1423:10-18. [PMID: 29542125 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Numerous studies have documented the behavioral advantages conferred on professional musicians and children undergoing music training in processing speech sounds varying in the spectral and temporal dimensions. These beneficial effects have previously often been associated with local functional and structural changes in the auditory cortex (AC). However, this perspective is oversimplified, in that it does not take into account the intrinsic organization of the human brain, namely, neural networks and oscillatory dynamics. Therefore, we propose a new framework for extending these previous findings to a network perspective by integrating multimodal imaging, electrophysiology, and neural oscillations. In particular, we provide concrete examples of how functional and structural connectivity can be used to model simple neural circuits exerting a modulatory influence on AC activity. In addition, we describe how such a network approach can be used for better comprehending the beneficial effects of music training on more complex speech functions, such as word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Division of Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division of Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center (INAPIC), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Program (URPP) "Dynamic of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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24
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Palomar-García MÁ, Zatorre RJ, Ventura-Campos N, Bueichekú E, Ávila C. Modulation of Functional Connectivity in Auditory-Motor Networks in Musicians Compared with Nonmusicians. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:2768-2778. [PMID: 27166170 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Correlation of spontaneous fluctuations at rest between anatomically distinct brain areas are proposed to reflect the profile of individual a priori cognitive biases, coded as synaptic efficacies in cortical networks. Here, we investigate functional connectivity at rest (rs-FC) in musicians and nonmusicians to test for differences in auditory, motor, and audiomotor connectivity. As expected, musicians had stronger rs-FC between the right auditory cortex (AC) and the right ventral premotor cortex than nonmusicians, and this stronger rs-FC was greater in musicians with more years of practice. We also found reduced rs-FC between the motor areas that control both hands in musicians compared with nonmusicians, which was more evident in the musicians whose instrument required bimanual coordination and as a function of hours of practice. Finally, we replicated previous morphometric data to show an increased volume in the right AC in musicians, which was greater in those with earlier musical training, and that this anatomic feature was in turn related to greater rs-FC between auditory and motor systems. These results show that functional coupling within the motor system and between motor and auditory areas is modulated as a function of musical training, suggesting a link between anatomic and functional brain features.
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Affiliation(s)
- María-Ángeles Palomar-García
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Robert J Zatorre
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H2A 3B4, Canada.,International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Québec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Noelia Ventura-Campos
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Elisenda Bueichekú
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - César Ávila
- Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Group, Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
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25
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Elmer S, Kühnis J, Rauch P, Abolfazl Valizadeh S, Jäncke L. Functional connectivity in the dorsal stream and between bilateral auditory-related cortical areas differentially contribute to speech decoding depending on spectro-temporal signal integrity and performance. Neuropsychologia 2017; 106:398-406. [PMID: 29106999 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Revised: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Speech processing relies on the interdependence between auditory perception, sensorimotor integration, and verbal memory functions. Functional and structural connectivity between bilateral auditory-related cortical areas (ARCAs) facilitates spectro-temporal analyses, whereas the dynamic interplay between ARCAs and Broca's area (i.e., dorsal pathway) contributes to verbal memory functions, articulation, and sound-to-motor mapping. However, it remains unclear whether these two neural circuits are preferentially driven by spectral or temporal acoustic information, and whether their recruitment is predictive of speech perception performance and learning. Therefore, we evaluated EEG-based intracranial (eLORETA) functional connectivity (lagged coherence) in both pathways (i.e., between bilateral ARCAs and in the dorsal stream) while good- (GPs, N = 12) and poor performers (PPs, N = 13) learned to decode natural pseudowords (CLEAN) or comparable items (speech-noise chimeras) manipulated in the envelope (ENV) or in the fine-structure (FS). Learning to decode degraded speech was generally associated with increased functional connectivity in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency range in both circuits. Furthermore, GPs exhibited increased connectivity in the left dorsal stream compared to PPs, but only during the FS condition and in the theta frequency band. These results suggest that both pathways contribute to the decoding of spectro-temporal degraded speech by increasing the communication between brain regions involved in perceptual analyses and verbal memory functions. Otherwise, the left-hemispheric recruitment of the dorsal stream in GPs during the FS condition points to a contribution of this pathway to articulatory-based memory processes that are dependent on the temporal integrity of the speech signal. These results enable to better comprehend the neural circuits underlying word-learning as a function of temporal and spectral signal integrity and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Jürg Kühnis
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Piyush Rauch
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Seyed Abolfazl Valizadeh
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division Neuropsychology (Auditory Research Group Zurich, ARGZ), Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Switzerland; International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center (INAPIC), University of Zurich, Switzerland; University Research Priority Program (URPP) "Dynamic of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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26
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Dittinger E, Valizadeh SA, Jäncke L, Besson M, Elmer S. Increased functional connectivity in the ventral and dorsal streams during retrieval of novel words in professional musicians. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:722-734. [PMID: 29105247 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Current models of speech and language processing postulate the involvement of two parallel processing streams (the dual stream model): a ventral stream involved in mapping sensory and phonological representations onto lexical and conceptual representations and a dorsal stream contributing to sound-to-motor mapping, articulation, and to how verbal information is encoded and manipulated in memory. Based on previous evidence showing that music training has an influence on language processing, cognitive functions, and word learning, we examined EEG-based intracranial functional connectivity in the ventral and dorsal streams while musicians and nonmusicians learned the meaning of novel words through picture-word associations. In accordance with the dual stream model, word learning was generally associated with increased beta functional connectivity in the ventral stream compared to the dorsal stream. In addition, in the linguistically most demanding "semantic task," musicians outperformed nonmusicians, and this behavioral advantage was accompanied by increased left-hemispheric theta connectivity in both streams. Moreover, theta coherence in the left dorsal pathway was positively correlated with the number of years of music training. These results provide evidence for a complex interplay within a network of brain regions involved in semantic processing and verbal memory functions, and suggest that intensive music training can modify its functional architecture leading to advantages in novel word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dittinger
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Univ, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), Marseille, France.,CNRS & Aix-Marseille Univ, Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL, UMR 7309), Aix-en-Provence, France.,Brain and Language Research Institute (BLRI), Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Seyed Abolfazl Valizadeh
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Sensory-Motor System Lab, Institute of Robotics and Intelligence Systems, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,University Research Priority Program (URRP) "Dynamic of Healthy Aging", Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mireille Besson
- CNRS & Aix-Marseille Univ, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), Marseille, France
| | - Stefan Elmer
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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27
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Faster native vowel discrimination learning in musicians is mediated by an optimization of mnemonic functions. Neuropsychologia 2017; 104:64-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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28
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Elmer S, Hausheer M, Albrecht J, Kühnis J. Human Brainstem Exhibits higher Sensitivity and Specificity than Auditory-Related Cortex to Short-Term Phonetic Discrimination Learning. Sci Rep 2017; 7:7455. [PMID: 28785043 PMCID: PMC5547112 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07426-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Phonetic discrimination learning is an active perceptual process that operates under the influence of cognitive control mechanisms by increasing the sensitivity of the auditory system to the trained stimulus attributes. It is assumed that the auditory cortex and the brainstem interact in order to refine how sounds are transcribed into neural codes. Here, we evaluated whether these two computational entities are prone to short-term functional changes, whether there is a chronological difference in malleability, and whether short-term training suffices to alter reciprocal interactions. We performed repeated cortical (i.e., mismatch negativity responses, MMN) and subcortical (i.e., frequency-following response, FFR) EEG measurements in two groups of participants who underwent one hour of phonetic discrimination training or were passively exposed to the same stimulus material. The training group showed a distinctive brainstem energy reduction in the trained frequency-range (i.e., first formant), whereas the passive group did not show any response modulation. Notably, brainstem signal change correlated with the behavioral improvement during training, this result indicating a close relationship between behavior and underlying brainstem physiology. Since we did not reveal group differences in MMN responses, results point to specific short-term brainstem changes that precede functional alterations in the auditory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Marcela Hausheer
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Joëlle Albrecht
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürg Kühnis
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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29
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Dittinger E, Chobert J, Ziegler JC, Besson M. Fast Brain Plasticity during Word Learning in Musically-Trained Children. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:233. [PMID: 28553213 PMCID: PMC5427084 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Children learn new words every day and this ability requires auditory perception, phoneme discrimination, attention, associative learning and semantic memory. Based on previous results showing that some of these functions are enhanced by music training, we investigated learning of novel words through picture-word associations in musically-trained and control children (8-12 year-old) to determine whether music training would positively influence word learning. Results showed that musically-trained children outperformed controls in a learning paradigm that included picture-sound matching and semantic associations. Moreover, the differences between unexpected and expected learned words, as reflected by the N200 and N400 effects, were larger in children with music training compared to controls after only 3 min of learning the meaning of novel words. In line with previous results in adults, these findings clearly demonstrate a correlation between music training and better word learning. It is argued that these benefits reflect both bottom-up and top-down influences. The present learning paradigm might provide a useful dynamic diagnostic tool to determine which perceptive and cognitive functions are impaired in children with learning difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Dittinger
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), CNRS, Aix-Marseille UniversityMarseille, France
- Laboratoire Parole et Langage (LPL, UMR 7309), CNRS, Aix-Marseille UniversityAix-en-Provence, France
| | - Julie Chobert
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), CNRS, Aix-Marseille UniversityMarseille, France
| | - Johannes C. Ziegler
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC, UMR 7290), CNRS, Aix-Marseille UniversityMarseille, France
| | - Mireille Besson
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC, UMR 7291), CNRS, Aix-Marseille UniversityMarseille, France
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Dittinger E, Barbaroux M, D'Imperio M, Jäncke L, Elmer S, Besson M. Professional Music Training and Novel Word Learning: From Faster Semantic Encoding to Longer-lasting Word Representations. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 28:1584-602. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
On the basis of previous results showing that music training positively influences different aspects of speech perception and cognition, the aim of this series of experiments was to test the hypothesis that adult professional musicians would learn the meaning of novel words through picture–word associations more efficiently than controls without music training (i.e., fewer errors and faster RTs). We also expected musicians to show faster changes in brain electrical activity than controls, in particular regarding the N400 component that develops with word learning. In line with these hypotheses, musicians outperformed controls in the most difficult semantic task. Moreover, although a frontally distributed N400 component developed in both groups of participants after only a few minutes of novel word learning, in musicians this frontal distribution rapidly shifted to parietal scalp sites, as typically found for the N400 elicited by known words. Finally, musicians showed evidence for better long-term memory for novel words 5 months after the main experimental session. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects from enhanced perception to memory as well as in terms of multifaceted improvements of cognitive processing due to music training. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that music training influences semantic aspects of language processing in adults. These results open new perspectives for education in showing that early music training can facilitate later foreign language learning. Moreover, the design used in the present experiment can help to specify the stages of word learning that are impaired in children and adults with word learning difficulties.
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Ong JH, Burnham D, Stevens CJ, Escudero P. Naïve Learners Show Cross-Domain Transfer after Distributional Learning: The Case of Lexical and Musical Pitch. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1189. [PMID: 27551272 PMCID: PMC4976504 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Experienced listeners of a particular acoustic cue in either speech or music appear to have an advantage when perceiving a similar cue in the other domain (i.e., they exhibit cross-domain transfer). One explanation for cross-domain transfer relates to the acquisition of the foundations of speech and music: if acquiring pitch-based elements in speech or music results in heightened attention to pitch in general, then cross-domain transfer of pitch may be observed, which may explain the cross-domain phenomenon seen among listeners of a tone language and listeners with musical training. Here, we investigate this possibility in naïve adult learners, who were trained to acquire pitch-based elements using a distributional learning paradigm, to provide a proof-of-concept for the explanation. Learners were exposed to a stimulus distribution spanning either a Thai lexical tone minimal pair or a novel musical chord minimal pair. Within each domain, the distribution highlights pitch to facilitate learning of two different sounds (Bimodal distribution) or the distribution minimizes pitch so that the input is inferred to be from a single sound (Unimodal distribution). Learning was assessed before and after exposure to the distribution using discrimination tasks with both Thai tone and musical chord minimal pairs. We hypothesize: (i) distributional learning for learners in both the tone and the chord distributions, that is, pre-to-post improvement in discrimination after exposure to the Bimodal but not the Unimodal distribution; and (ii) for both the tone and chord conditions, learners in the Bimodal conditions but not those in the Unimodal conditions will show cross-domain transfer, as indexed by improvement in discrimination of test items in the domain other than what they were trained on. The results support both hypotheses, suggesting that distributional learning is not only used to acquire the foundations of speech and music, but may also play a role in cross-domain transfer: as a result of learning primitives based on a particular cue, learners show heightened attention to that cue in any auditory signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Hoong Ong
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Denis Burnham
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Catherine J Stevens
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney NSW, Australia
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Skilled musicians are not subject to the McGurk effect. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30423. [PMID: 27453363 PMCID: PMC4958963 DOI: 10.1038/srep30423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The McGurk effect is a compelling illusion in which humans auditorily perceive mismatched audiovisual speech as a completely different syllable. In this study evidences are provided that professional musicians are not subject to this illusion, possibly because of their finer auditory or attentional abilities. 80 healthy age-matched graduate students volunteered to the study. 40 were musicians of Brescia Luca Marenzio Conservatory of Music with at least 8–13 years of musical academic studies. /la/, /da/, /ta/, /ga/, /ka/, /na/, /ba/, /pa/ phonemes were presented to participants in audiovisual congruent and incongruent conditions, or in unimodal (only visual or only auditory) conditions while engaged in syllable recognition tasks. Overall musicians showed no significant McGurk effect for any of the phonemes. Controls showed a marked McGurk effect for several phonemes (including alveolar-nasal, velar-occlusive and bilabial ones). The results indicate that the early and intensive musical training might affect the way the auditory cortex process phonetic information.
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Goswami U, Cumming R, Chait M, Huss M, Mead N, Wilson AM, Barnes L, Fosker T. Perception of Filtered Speech by Children with Developmental Dyslexia and Children with Specific Language Impairments. Front Psychol 2016; 7:791. [PMID: 27303348 PMCID: PMC4885376 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Here we use two filtered speech tasks to investigate children’s processing of slow (<4 Hz) versus faster (∼33 Hz) temporal modulations in speech. We compare groups of children with either developmental dyslexia (Experiment 1) or speech and language impairments (SLIs, Experiment 2) to groups of typically-developing (TD) children age-matched to each disorder group. Ten nursery rhymes were filtered so that their modulation frequencies were either low-pass filtered (<4 Hz) or band-pass filtered (22 – 40 Hz). Recognition of the filtered nursery rhymes was tested in a picture recognition multiple choice paradigm. Children with dyslexia aged 10 years showed equivalent recognition overall to TD controls for both the low-pass and band-pass filtered stimuli, but showed significantly impaired acoustic learning during the experiment from low-pass filtered targets. Children with oral SLIs aged 9 years showed significantly poorer recognition of band pass filtered targets compared to their TD controls, and showed comparable acoustic learning effects to TD children during the experiment. The SLI samples were also divided into children with and without phonological difficulties. The children with both SLI and phonological difficulties were impaired in recognizing both kinds of filtered speech. These data are suggestive of impaired temporal sampling of the speech signal at different modulation rates by children with different kinds of developmental language disorder. Both SLI and dyslexic samples showed impaired discrimination of amplitude rise times. Implications of these findings for a temporal sampling framework for understanding developmental language disorders are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Usha Goswami
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Ruth Cumming
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Maria Chait
- Ear Institute, University College London London, UK
| | - Martina Huss
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Natasha Mead
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Angela M Wilson
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Lisa Barnes
- Centre for Neuroscience in Education, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Tim Fosker
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast Belfast, UK
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Elmer S, Kühnis J. Functional Connectivity in the Left Dorsal Stream Facilitates Simultaneous Language Translation: An EEG Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:60. [PMID: 26924976 PMCID: PMC4759282 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical speech processing is dependent on the mutual interdependence of two distinctive processing streams supporting sound-to-meaning (i.e., ventral stream) and sound-to-articulation (i.e., dorsal stream) mapping. Here, we compared the strengths of intracranial functional connectivity between two main hubs of the dorsal stream, namely the left auditory-related cortex (ARC) and Broca’s region, in a sample of simultaneous interpreters (SIs) and multilingual control subjects while the participants performed a mixed and unmixed auditory semantic decision task. Under normal listening conditions such kind of tasks are known to initiate a spread of activation along the ventral stream. However, due to extensive and specific training, here we predicted that SIs will more strongly recruit the dorsal pathway in order to pre-activate the speech codes of the corresponding translation. In line with this reasoning, EEG results demonstrate increased left-hemispheric theta phase synchronization in SLI compared to multilingual control participants during early task-related processing stages. In addition, within the SI group functional connectivity strength in the left dorsal pathway was positively related to the cumulative number of training hours across lifespan, and inversely correlated with the age of training commencement. Hence, we propose that the alignment of neuronal oscillations between brain regions involved in “hearing” and “speaking” results from an intertwining of training, sensitive period, and predisposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jürg Kühnis
- Auditory Research Group Zurich (ARGZ), Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
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Klein C, Liem F, Hänggi J, Elmer S, Jäncke L. The "silent" imprint of musical training. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:536-46. [PMID: 26538421 PMCID: PMC6867483 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Revised: 10/13/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Playing a musical instrument at a professional level is a complex multimodal task requiring information integration between different brain regions supporting auditory, somatosensory, motor, and cognitive functions. These kinds of task-specific activations are known to have a profound influence on both the functional and structural architecture of the human brain. However, until now, it is widely unknown whether this specific imprint of musical practice can still be detected during rest when no musical instrument is used. Therefore, we applied high-density electroencephalography and evaluated whole-brain functional connectivity as well as small-world topologies (i.e., node degree) during resting state in a sample of 15 professional musicians and 15 nonmusicians. As expected, musicians demonstrate increased intra- and interhemispheric functional connectivity between those brain regions that are typically involved in music perception and production, such as the auditory, the sensorimotor, and prefrontal cortex as well as Broca's area. In addition, mean connectivity within this specific network was positively related to musical skill and the total number of training hours. Thus, we conclude that musical training distinctively shapes intrinsic functional network characteristics in such a manner that its signature can still be detected during a task-free condition. Hum Brain Mapp 37:536-546, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Klein
- Division NeuropsychologyInstitute of Psychology, University of ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Franziskus Liem
- Division NeuropsychologyInstitute of Psychology, University of ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Jürgen Hänggi
- Division NeuropsychologyInstitute of Psychology, University of ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Stefan Elmer
- Division NeuropsychologyInstitute of Psychology, University of ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division NeuropsychologyInstitute of Psychology, University of ZurichSwitzerland
- International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center (INAPIC), University of ZurichSwitzerland
- Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of ZurichSwitzerland
- University Research Priority Program (URPP), Dynamic of Healthy Aging, University of ZurichSwitzerland
- Department of Special EducationKing Abdulaziz UniversityJeddahSaudi Arabia
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36
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Heffner CC, Slevc LR. Prosodic Structure as a Parallel to Musical Structure. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1962. [PMID: 26733930 PMCID: PMC4687474 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
What structural properties do language and music share? Although early speculation identified a wide variety of possibilities, the literature has largely focused on the parallels between musical structure and syntactic structure. Here, we argue that parallels between musical structure and prosodic structure deserve more attention. We review the evidence for a link between musical and prosodic structure and find it to be strong. In fact, certain elements of prosodic structure may provide a parsimonious comparison with musical structure without sacrificing empirical findings related to the parallels between language and music. We then develop several predictions related to such a hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher C. Heffner
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College ParkMD, USA
- Department of Linguistics, University of Maryland, College ParkMD, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College ParkMD, USA
| | - L. Robert Slevc
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College ParkMD, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College ParkMD, USA
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37
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Cumming R, Wilson A, Leong V, Colling LJ, Goswami U. Awareness of Rhythm Patterns in Speech and Music in Children with Specific Language Impairments. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:672. [PMID: 26733848 PMCID: PMC4686839 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with specific language impairments (SLIs) show impaired perception and production of language, and also show impairments in perceiving auditory cues to rhythm [amplitude rise time (ART) and sound duration] and in tapping to a rhythmic beat. Here we explore potential links between language development and rhythm perception in 45 children with SLI and 50 age-matched controls. We administered three rhythmic tasks, a musical beat detection task, a tapping-to-music task, and a novel music/speech task, which varied rhythm and pitch cues independently or together in both speech and music. Via low-pass filtering, the music sounded as though it was played from a low-quality radio and the speech sounded as though it was muffled (heard "behind the door"). We report data for all of the SLI children (N = 45, IQ varying), as well as for two independent subgroupings with intact IQ. One subgroup, "Pure SLI," had intact phonology and reading (N = 16), the other, "SLI PPR" (N = 15), had impaired phonology and reading. When IQ varied (all SLI children), we found significant group differences in all the rhythmic tasks. For the Pure SLI group, there were rhythmic impairments in the tapping task only. For children with SLI and poor phonology (SLI PPR), group differences were found in all of the filtered speech/music AXB tasks. We conclude that difficulties with rhythmic cues in both speech and music are present in children with SLIs, but that some rhythmic measures are more sensitive than others. The data are interpreted within a "prosodic phrasing" hypothesis, and we discuss the potential utility of rhythmic and musical interventions in remediating speech and language difficulties in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Cumming
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Angela Wilson
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Victoria Leong
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Lincoln J Colling
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Usha Goswami
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience in Education, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
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LaCroix AN, Diaz AF, Rogalsky C. The relationship between the neural computations for speech and music perception is context-dependent: an activation likelihood estimate study. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1138. [PMID: 26321976 PMCID: PMC4531212 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between the neurobiology of speech and music has been investigated for more than a century. There remains no widespread agreement regarding how (or to what extent) music perception utilizes the neural circuitry that is engaged in speech processing, particularly at the cortical level. Prominent models such as Patel's Shared Syntactic Integration Resource Hypothesis (SSIRH) and Koelsch's neurocognitive model of music perception suggest a high degree of overlap, particularly in the frontal lobe, but also perhaps more distinct representations in the temporal lobe with hemispheric asymmetries. The present meta-analysis study used activation likelihood estimate analyses to identify the brain regions consistently activated for music as compared to speech across the functional neuroimaging (fMRI and PET) literature. Eighty music and 91 speech neuroimaging studies of healthy adult control subjects were analyzed. Peak activations reported in the music and speech studies were divided into four paradigm categories: passive listening, discrimination tasks, error/anomaly detection tasks and memory-related tasks. We then compared activation likelihood estimates within each category for music vs. speech, and each music condition with passive listening. We found that listening to music and to speech preferentially activate distinct temporo-parietal bilateral cortical networks. We also found music and speech to have shared resources in the left pars opercularis but speech-specific resources in the left pars triangularis. The extent to which music recruited speech-activated frontal resources was modulated by task. While there are certainly limitations to meta-analysis techniques particularly regarding sensitivity, this work suggests that the extent of shared resources between speech and music may be task-dependent and highlights the need to consider how task effects may be affecting conclusions regarding the neurobiology of speech and music.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna N LaCroix
- Communication Neuroimaging and Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Alvaro F Diaz
- Communication Neuroimaging and Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Corianne Rogalsky
- Communication Neuroimaging and Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA
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39
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Schellenberg EG. Music training and speech perception: a gene-environment interaction. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1337:170-7. [PMID: 25773632 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Claims of beneficial side effects of music training are made for many different abilities, including verbal and visuospatial abilities, executive functions, working memory, IQ, and speech perception in particular. Such claims assume that music training causes the associations even though children who take music lessons are likely to differ from other children in music aptitude, which is associated with many aspects of speech perception. Music training in childhood is also associated with cognitive, personality, and demographic variables, and it is well established that IQ and personality are determined largely by genetics. Recent evidence also indicates that the role of genetics in music aptitude and music achievement is much larger than previously thought. In short, music training is an ideal model for the study of gene-environment interactions but far less appropriate as a model for the study of plasticity. Children seek out environments, including those with music lessons, that are consistent with their predispositions; such environments exaggerate preexisting individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Glenn Schellenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Klein C, Diaz Hernandez L, Koenig T, Kottlow M, Elmer S, Jäncke L. The Influence of Pre-stimulus EEG Activity on Reaction Time During a Verbal Sternberg Task is Related to Musical Expertise. Brain Topogr 2015; 29:67-81. [PMID: 25929715 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-015-0433-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 04/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous work highlighted the possibility that musical training has an influence on cognitive functioning. The suggested reason for this influence is the strong recruitment of attention, planning, and working memory functions during playing a musical instrument. The purpose of the present work was twofold, namely to evaluate the general relationship between pre-stimulus electrophysiological activity and cognition, and more specifically the influence of musical expertise on working memory functions. With this purpose in mind, we used covariance mapping analyses to evaluate whether pre-stimulus electroencephalographic activity is predictive for reaction time during a visual working memory task (Sternberg paradigm) in musicians and non-musicians. In line with our hypothesis, we replicated previous findings pointing to a general predictive value of pre-stimulus activity for working memory performance. Most importantly, we also provide first evidence for an influence of musical expertise on working memory performance that could distinctively be predicted by pre-stimulus spectral power. Our results open novel perspectives for better comprehending the vast influences of musical expertise on cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Klein
- Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Laura Diaz Hernandez
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland. .,Center of Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Thomas Koenig
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland. .,Center of Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Mara Kottlow
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland. .,Center of Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. .,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Stefan Elmer
- Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center (INAPIC), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,University Research Priority Program (URPP), Dynamic of Healthy Aging, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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41
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Wu H, Ma X, Zhang L, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Shu H. Musical experience modulates categorical perception of lexical tones in native Chinese speakers. Front Psychol 2015; 6:436. [PMID: 25918511 PMCID: PMC4394639 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although musical training has been shown to facilitate both native and non-native phonetic perception, it remains unclear whether and how musical experience affects native speakers’ categorical perception (CP) of speech at the suprasegmental level. Using both identification and discrimination tasks, this study compared Chinese-speaking musicians and non-musicians in their CP of a lexical tone continuum (from the high level tone, Tone1 to the high falling tone, Tone4). While the identification functions showed similar steepness and boundary location between the two subject groups, the discrimination results revealed superior performance in the musicians for discriminating within-category stimuli pairs but not for between-category stimuli. These findings suggest that musical training can enhance sensitivity to subtle pitch differences between within-category sounds in the presence of robust mental representations in service of CP of lexical tonal contrasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohui Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
| | - Linjun Zhang
- Faculty of Linguistic Sciences, Beijing Language and Culture University Beijing, China
| | - Youyi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Hua Shu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
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42
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Abstract
Absolute pitch (AP) refers to the rare ability to identify the chroma of a tone or to produce a specific pitch without reference to keyality (e.g., G or C). Previously, AP has been proposed to rely on the distinctive functional-anatomical architecture of the left auditory-related cortex (ARC), this specific trait possibly enabling an optimized early "categorical perception". In contrast, currently prevailing models of AP postulate that cognitive rather than perceptual processes, namely "pitch labeling" mechanisms, more likely constitute the bearing skeleton of AP. This associative memory component has previously been proposed to be dependent, among other mechanisms, on the recruitment of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as well as on the integrity of the left arcuate fasciculus, a fiber bundle linking the posterior supratemporal plane with the DLPFC. Here, we attempted to integrate these two apparently conflicting perspectives on AP, namely early "categorical perception" and "pitch labeling". We used electroencephalography and evaluated resting-state intracranial functional connectivity between the left ARC and DLPFC in a sample of musicians with and without AP. Results demonstrate significantly increased left-hemispheric theta phase synchronization in AP compared with non-AP musicians. Within the AP group, this specific electrophysiological marker was predictive of absolute-hearing behavior and explained ∼30% of variance. Thus, we propose that in AP subjects the tonal inputs and the corresponding mnemonic representations are tightly coupled in such a manner that the distinctive electrophysiological signature of AP can saliently be detected in only 3 min of resting-state measurements.
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43
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Xie Z, Maddox WT, McGeary JE, Chandrasekaran B. The C957T polymorphism in the dopamine receptor D₂ gene modulates domain-general category learning. J Neurophysiol 2015; 113:3281-90. [PMID: 25761959 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01005.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive learning from reward and punishment is vital for human survival. Striatal and frontal dopaminergic activities are associated with adaptive learning. For example, the C957T single nucleotide polymorphism of the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) gene alters striatal D2 receptor availability and affects individuals' adaptive learning ability. Specifically, individuals with the T/T genotype, which is associated with higher striatal D2 availability, show enhanced learning from negative outcomes. Prior work examining DRD2 genetic variability has focused primarily on frontally mediated reflective learning that is under effortful, conscious control. However, less is known about a more automatic, striatally mediated reflexive learning. Here we examined the extent to which this polymorphism differentially influences reflective and reflexive learning across visual and auditory modalities. We employed rule-based (RB) and information-integration (II) category learning paradigms that target reflective and reflexive learning, respectively. Results revealed an advantage in II category learning but poorer RB category learning in T/T homozygotes. The pattern of results was consistent across sensory modalities. These findings suggest that this DRD2 polymorphism exerts opposite influences on domain-general frontally mediated reflective learning and striatally mediated reflexive learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zilong Xie
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - W Todd Maddox
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - John E McGeary
- Division of Behavioral Genetics, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; and Psychologist, Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Bharath Chandrasekaran
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas;
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Rogenmoser L, Elmer S, Jäncke L. Absolute Pitch: Evidence for Early Cognitive Facilitation during Passive Listening as Revealed by Reduced P3a Amplitudes. J Cogn Neurosci 2015; 27:623-37. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Absolute pitch (AP) is the rare ability to identify or produce different pitches without using reference tones. At least two sequential processing stages are assumed to contribute to this phenomenon. The first recruits a pitch memory mechanism at an early stage of auditory processing, whereas the second is driven by a later cognitive mechanism (pitch labeling). Several investigations have used active tasks, but it is unclear how these two mechanisms contribute to AP during passive listening. The present work investigated the temporal dynamics of tone processing in AP and non-AP (NAP) participants by using EEG. We applied a passive oddball paradigm with between- and within-tone category manipulations and analyzed the MMN reflecting the early stage of auditory processing and the P3a response reflecting the later cognitive mechanism during the second processing stage. Results did not reveal between-group differences in MMN waveforms. By contrast, the P3a response was specifically associated with AP and sensitive to the processing of different pitch types. Specifically, AP participants exhibited smaller P3a amplitudes, especially in between-tone category conditions, and P3a responses correlated significantly with the age of commencement of musical training, suggesting an influence of early musical exposure on AP. Our results reinforce the current opinion that the representation of pitches at the processing level of the auditory-related cortex is comparable among AP and NAP participants, whereas the later processing stage is critical for AP. Results are interpreted as reflecting cognitive facilitation in AP participants, possibly driven by the availability of multiple codes for tones.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lutz Jäncke
- 1University of Zurich
- 2King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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45
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Neural correlates of taste perception in congenital blindness. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:227-34. [PMID: 25708174 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2014] [Revised: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Sight is undoubtedly important for the perception and the assessment of the palatability of tastants. Although many studies have addressed the consequences of visual impairment on food selection, feeding behavior, eating habits and taste perception, nothing is known about the neural correlates of gustation in blindness. In the current study we examined brain responses during gustation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We scanned nine congenitally blind and 14 age- and sex-matched blindfolded sighted control subjects, matched in age, gender and body mass index (BMI), while they made judgments of either the intensity or the (un)pleasantness of different tastes (sweet, bitter) or artificial saliva that were delivered intra-orally. The fMRI data indicated that during gustation, congenitally blind individuals activate less strongly the primary taste cortex (right posterior insula and overlying Rolandic operculum) and the hypothalamus. In sharp contrast with results of multiple other sensory processing studies in congenitally blind subjects, including touch, audition and smell, the occipital cortex was not recruited during taste processing, suggesting the absence of taste-related compensatory crossmodal responses in the occipital cortex. These results underscore our earlier behavioral demonstration that congenitally blind subjects have a lower gustatory sensitivity compared to normal sighted individuals. We hypothesize that due to an underexposure to a variety of tastants, training-induced crossmodal sensory plasticity to gustatory stimulation does not occur in blind subjects.
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Elmer S, Hänggi J, Jäncke L. Interhemispheric transcallosal connectivity between the left and right planum temporale predicts musicianship, performance in temporal speech processing, and functional specialization. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 221:331-44. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0910-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Elmer S, Jäncke L. Intracerebral functional connectivity-guided neurofeedback as a putative rehabilitative intervention for ameliorating auditory-related dysfunctions. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1227. [PMID: 25400606 PMCID: PMC4212614 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 10/09/2014] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) constitutes one of the most eligible candidates for neurofeedback applications, principally due to its excellent temporal resolution best reflecting the natural dynamics of brain processes. In addition, EEG is easy to use and provides the opportunity for mobile applications. In the present opinion article, we pinpoint the advantages of using intracerebral functional connectivity (IFC) instead of quantitative scalp EEG for interventional applications. In fact, due to the convergence of multiple signals originating from different spatial locations and electrophysiological interactions, miscellaneous scalp signals are too unspecific for therapeutic neurofeedback applications. Otherwise, IFC opens novel perspectives for influencing brain activity in specific dysfunctional small- and large-scale neuronal networks with a reasonable spatial resolution. In the present article, we propose concrete interventional IFC applications that may be used to ameliorate auditory-related dysfunctions such as developmental dyslexia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Elmer
- Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- Division Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
- Center for Integrative Human PhysiologyZurich, Switzerland
- International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging CenterZurich, Switzerland
- Research Unit for Plasticity and Learning of the Healthy Aging Brain, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
- Dynamic of Healthy Aging, University Research Priority Program University of ZurichSwitzerland
- Department of Special Education, King Abdulaziz UniversityJeddah, Saudi Arabia
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48
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Elmer S, Klein C, Kühnis J, Liem F, Meyer M, Jäncke L. Music and Language Expertise Influence the Categorization of Speech and Musical Sounds: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Measurements. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 26:2356-69. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In this study, we used high-density EEG to evaluate whether speech and music expertise has an influence on the categorization of expertise-related and unrelated sounds. With this purpose in mind, we compared the categorization of speech, music, and neutral sounds between professional musicians, simultaneous interpreters (SIs), and controls in response to morphed speech–noise, music–noise, and speech–music continua. Our hypothesis was that music and language expertise will strengthen the memory representations of prototypical sounds, which act as a perceptual magnet for morphed variants. This means that the prototype would “attract” variants. This so-called magnet effect should be manifested by an increased assignment of morphed items to the trained category, by a reduced maximal slope of the psychometric function, as well as by differential event-related brain responses reflecting memory comparison processes (i.e., N400 and P600 responses). As a main result, we provide first evidence for a domain-specific behavioral bias of musicians and SIs toward the trained categories, namely music and speech. In addition, SIs showed a bias toward musical items, indicating that interpreting training has a generic influence on the cognitive representation of spectrotemporal signals with similar acoustic properties to speech sounds. Notably, EEG measurements revealed clear distinct N400 and P600 responses to both prototypical and ambiguous items between the three groups at anterior, central, and posterior scalp sites. These differential N400 and P600 responses represent synchronous activity occurring across widely distributed brain networks, and indicate a dynamical recruitment of memory processes that vary as a function of training and expertise.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Martin Meyer
- 1University of Zurich
- 2Center for Integrative Human Physiology, Zurich, Switzerland
- 3International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Jäncke
- 1University of Zurich
- 2Center for Integrative Human Physiology, Zurich, Switzerland
- 3International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center, Zurich, Switzerland
- 4King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Lee H, Noppeney U. Music expertise shapes audiovisual temporal integration windows for speech, sinewave speech, and music. Front Psychol 2014; 5:868. [PMID: 25147539 PMCID: PMC4124486 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This psychophysics study used musicians as a model to investigate whether musical expertise shapes the temporal integration window for audiovisual speech, sinewave speech, or music. Musicians and non-musicians judged the audiovisual synchrony of speech, sinewave analogs of speech, and music stimuli at 13 audiovisual stimulus onset asynchronies (±360, ±300 ±240, ±180, ±120, ±60, and 0 ms). Further, we manipulated the duration of the stimuli by presenting sentences/melodies or syllables/tones. Critically, musicians relative to non-musicians exhibited significantly narrower temporal integration windows for both music and sinewave speech. Further, the temporal integration window for music decreased with the amount of music practice, but not with age of acquisition. In other words, the more musicians practiced piano in the past 3 years, the more sensitive they became to the temporal misalignment of visual and auditory signals. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that music practicing fine-tunes the audiovisual temporal integration window to various extents depending on the stimulus class. While the effect of piano practicing was most pronounced for music, it also generalized to other stimulus classes such as sinewave speech and to a marginally significant degree to natural speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hweeling Lee
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany ; Memory Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Bonn, Germany
| | - Uta Noppeney
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany ; Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics Centre, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK
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50
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Kühnis J, Elmer S, Jäncke L. Auditory evoked responses in musicians during passive vowel listening are modulated by functional connectivity between bilateral auditory-related brain regions. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 26:2750-61. [PMID: 24893742 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Currently, there is striking evidence showing that professional musical training can substantially alter the response properties of auditory-related cortical fields. Such plastic changes have previously been shown not only to abet the processing of musical sounds, but likewise spectral and temporal aspects of speech. Therefore, here we used the EEG technique and measured a sample of musicians and nonmusicians while the participants were passively exposed to artificial vowels in the context of an oddball paradigm. Thereby, we evaluated whether increased intracerebral functional connectivity between bilateral auditory-related brain regions may promote sensory specialization in musicians, as reflected by altered cortical N1 and P2 responses. This assumption builds on the reasoning that sensory specialization is dependent, at least in part, on the amount of synchronization between the two auditory-related cortices. Results clearly revealed that auditory-evoked N1 responses were shaped by musical expertise. In addition, in line with our reasoning musicians showed an overall increased intracerebral functional connectivity (as indexed by lagged phase synchronization) in theta, alpha, and beta bands. Finally, within-group correlative analyses indicated a relationship between intracerebral beta band connectivity and cortical N1 responses, however only within the musicians' group. Taken together, we provide first electrophysiological evidence for a relationship between musical expertise, auditory-evoked brain responses, and intracerebral functional connectivity among auditory-related brain regions.
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