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Brattico E, Delussi M. Making sense of music: Insights from neurophysiology and connectivity analyses in naturalistic listening conditions. Hear Res 2024; 441:108923. [PMID: 38091866 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2023.108923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
According to the latest frameworks, auditory perception and memory involve the constant prediction of future sound events by the brain, based on the continuous extraction of feature regularities from the environment. The neural hierarchical mechanisms for predictive processes in perception and memory for sounds are typically studied in relation to simple acoustic features in isolated sounds or sound patterns inserted in highly certain contexts. Such studies have identified reliable prediction formation and error signals, e.g., the N100 or the mismatch negativity (MMN) evoked responses. In real life, though, individuals often face situations in which uncertainty prevails and where making sense of sounds becomes a hard challenge. In music, not only deviations from predictions are masterly set up by composers to induce emotions but sometimes the sheer uncertainty of sound scenes is exploited for aesthetic purposes, especially in compositional styles such as Western atonal classical music. In very recent magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) studies, experimental and technical advances in stimulation paradigms and analysis approaches have permitted the identification of prediction-error responses from highly uncertain, atonal contexts and the extraction of prediction-related responses from real, continuous music. Moreover, functional connectivity analyses revealed the emergence of cortico-hippocampal interactions during the formation of auditory memories for more predictable vs. less predictable patterns. These findings contribute to understanding the general brain mechanisms that enable us to predict even highly uncertain sound environments and to possibly make sense of and appreciate even atonal music.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvira Brattico
- Centre for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy.
| | - Marianna Delussi
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy
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Bonetti L, Bruzzone S, Paunio T, Kantojärvi K, Kliuchko M, Vuust P, Palva S, Brattico E. Moderate associations between BDNF Val66Met gene polymorphism, musical expertise, and mismatch negativity. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15600. [PMID: 37153429 PMCID: PMC10160759 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Auditory predictive processing relies on a complex interaction between environmental, neurophysiological, and genetic factors. In this view, the mismatch negativity (MMN) and intensive training on a musical instrument for several years have been used for studying environment-driven neural adaptations in audition. In addition, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been shown crucial for both the neurogenesis and the later adaptation of the auditory system. The functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Val66Met (rs6265) in the BDNF gene can affect BDNF protein levels, which are involved in neurobiological and neurophysiological processes such as neurogenesis and neuronal plasticity. In this study, we hypothesised that genetic variation within the BDNF gene would be associated with different levels of neuroplasticity of the auditory cortex in 74 musically trained participants. To achieve this goal, musicians and non-musicians were recruited and divided in Val/Val and Met- (Val/Met and Met/Met) carriers and their brain activity was measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) while they listened to a regular auditory sequence eliciting different types of prediction errors. MMN responses indexing those prediction errors were overall enhanced in Val/Val carriers who underwent intensive musical training, compared to Met-carriers and non-musicians with either genotype. Although this study calls for replications with larger samples, our results provide a first glimpse of the possible role of gene-regulated neurotrophic factors in the neural adaptations of automatic predictive processing in the auditory domain after long-term training.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Bonetti
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy
- Corresponding author. Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark, and Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, UK.
| | - S.E.P. Bruzzone
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - T. Paunio
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - K. Kantojärvi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - M. Kliuchko
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - P. Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - S. Palva
- Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences, Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - E. Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy
- Corresponding author. Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark.
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Haumann NT, Petersen B, Friis Andersen AS, Faulkner KF, Brattico E, Vuust P. Mismatch negativity as a marker of music perception in individual cochlear implant users: A spike density component analysis study. Clin Neurophysiol 2023; 148:76-92. [PMID: 36822119 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2023.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Ninety percent of cochlear implant (CI) users are interested in improving their music perception. However, only few objective behavioral and neurophysiological tests have been developed for tracing the development of music discrimination skills in CI users. In this study, we aimed to obtain an accurate individual mismatch negativity (MMN) marker that could predict behavioral auditory discrimination thresholds. METHODS We measured the individual MMN response to four magnitudes of deviations in four different musical features (intensity, pitch, timbre, and rhythm) in a rare sample of experienced CI users and a control sample of normally hearing participants. We applied a recently developed spike density component analysis (SCA), which can suppress confounding alpha waves, and contrasted it with previously proposed methods. RESULTS Statistically detected individual MMN predicted attentive sound discrimination ability with high accuracy: for CI users 89.2% (278/312 cases) and for controls 90.5% (384/424 cases). As expected, MMN was detected for fewer CI users when the sound deviants were of smaller magnitude. CONCLUSIONS The findings support the use of MMN responses in individual CI users as a diagnostic tool for testing music perception. SIGNIFICANCE For CI users, the new SCA method provided more accurate and replicable diagnostic detections than preceding state-of-the-art.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niels Trusbak Haumann
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Bjørn Petersen
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Anne Sofie Friis Andersen
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Elvira Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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Bonetti L, Carlomagno F, Kliuchko M, Gold B, Palva S, Haumann N, Tervaniemi M, Huotilainen M, Vuust P, Brattico E. Whole-brain computation of cognitive versus acoustic errors in music: A mismatch negativity study. NEUROIMAGE: REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2022.100145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Tervaniemi M. Mismatch negativity-stimulation paradigms in past and in future. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1025763. [PMID: 36466164 PMCID: PMC9713013 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1025763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Mismatch negativity (MMN) studies were initiated as part of a well-controlled experimental research tradition with the aim to identify some key principles of auditory processing and memory. During the past two decades, empirical paradigms have moved toward more ecologically valid ones while retaining rigid experimental control. In this paper, I will introduce this development of MMN stimulation paradigms starting from the paradigms used in basic science and then moving to paradigms that have been particularly relevant for studies on music learning and musical expertise. Via these historical and thematic perspectives, I wish to stimulate paradigm development further to meet the demands of naturalistic ecologically valid studies also when using MMN in the context of event-related potential technique that necessarily requires averaging across several stimulus presentations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mari Tervaniemi
- Center of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body, and Brain, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Abstract
Through long-term training, music experts acquire complex and specialized sensorimotor skills, which are paralleled by continuous neuro-anatomical and -functional adaptations. The underlying neuroplasticity mechanisms have been extensively explored in decades of research in music, cognitive, and translational neuroscience. However, the absence of a comprehensive review and quantitative meta-analysis prevents the plethora of variegated findings to ultimately converge into a unified picture of the neuroanatomy of musical expertise. Here, we performed a comprehensive neuroimaging meta-analysis of publications investigating neuro-anatomical and -functional differences between musicians (M) and non-musicians (NM). Eighty-four studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. From these, 58 publications were included in coordinate-based meta-analyses using the anatomic/activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method. This comprehensive approach delivers a coherent cortico-subcortical network encompassing sensorimotor and limbic regions bilaterally. Particularly, M exhibited higher volume/activity in auditory, sensorimotor, interoceptive, and limbic brain areas and lower volume/activity in parietal areas as opposed to NM. Notably, we reveal topographical (dis-)similarities between the identified functional and anatomical networks and characterize their link to various cognitive functions by means of meta-analytic connectivity modelling. Overall, we effectively synthesized decades of research in the field and provide a consistent and controversies-free picture of the neuroanatomy of musical expertise.
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Mencke I, Omigie D, Quiroga-Martinez DR, Brattico E. Atonal Music as a Model for Investigating Exploratory Behavior. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:793163. [PMID: 35812236 PMCID: PMC9256982 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.793163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Atonal music is often characterized by low predictability stemming from the absence of tonal or metrical hierarchies. In contrast, Western tonal music exhibits intrinsic predictability due to its hierarchical structure and therefore, offers a directly accessible predictive model to the listener. In consequence, a specific challenge of atonal music is that listeners must generate a variety of new predictive models. Listeners must not only refrain from applying available tonal models to the heard music, but they must also search for statistical regularities and build new rules that may be related to musical properties other than pitch, such as timbre or dynamics. In this article, we propose that the generation of such new predictive models and the aesthetic experience of atonal music are characterized by internal states related to exploration. This is a behavior well characterized in behavioral neuroscience as fulfilling an innate drive to reduce uncertainty but which has received little attention in empirical music research. We support our proposal with emerging evidence that the hedonic value is associated with the recognition of patterns in low-predictability sound sequences and that atonal music elicits distinct behavioral responses in listeners. We end by outlining new research avenues that might both deepen our understanding of the aesthetic experience of atonal music in particular, and reveal core qualities of the aesthetic experience in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Mencke
- Department of Music, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt, Germany
- *Correspondence: Iris Mencke,
| | - Diana Omigie
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David Ricardo Quiroga-Martinez
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Elvira Brattico
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University and Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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Mencke I, Quiroga-Martinez DR, Omigie D, Michalareas G, Schwarzacher F, Haumann NT, Vuust P, Brattico E. Prediction under uncertainty: Dissociating sensory from cognitive expectations in highly uncertain musical contexts. Brain Res 2021; 1773:147664. [PMID: 34560052 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Predictive models in the brain rely on the continuous extraction of regularities from the environment. These models are thought to be updated by novel information, as reflected in prediction error responses such as the mismatch negativity (MMN). However, although in real life individuals often face situations in which uncertainty prevails, it remains unclear whether and how predictive models emerge in high-uncertainty contexts. Recent research suggests that uncertainty affects the magnitude of MMN responses in the context of music listening. However, musical predictions are typically studied with MMN stimulation paradigms based on Western tonal music, which are characterized by relatively high predictability. Hence, we developed an MMN paradigm to investigate how the high uncertainty of atonal music modulates predictive processes as indexed by the MMN and behavior. Using MEG in a group of 20 subjects without musical training, we demonstrate that the magnetic MMN in response to pitch, intensity, timbre, and location deviants is evoked in both tonal and atonal melodies, with no significant differences between conditions. In contrast, in a separate behavioral experiment involving 39 non-musicians, participants detected pitch deviants more accurately and rated confidence higher in the tonal than in the atonal musical context. These results indicate that contextual tonal uncertainty modulates processing stages in which conscious awareness is involved, although deviants robustly elicit low-level pre-attentive responses such as the MMN. The achievement of robust MMN responses, despite high tonal uncertainty, is relevant for future studies comparing groups of listeners' MMN responses to increasingly ecological music stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Mencke
- Department of Music, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322 Frankfurt/Main, Germany; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - David Ricardo Quiroga-Martinez
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Diana Omigie
- Department of Psychology, University of London, Goldsmiths, SE14 6NW London, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Michalareas
- Department of Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Franz Schwarzacher
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Niels Trusbak Haumann
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Elvira Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 70121 Bari, Italy
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Sounds familiar(?): Expertise with specific musical genres modulates timing perception and micro-level synchronization to auditory stimuli. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 84:599-615. [PMID: 34862587 PMCID: PMC8888399 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02393-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Musical expertise improves the precision of timing perception and performance – but is this expertise generic, or is it tied to the specific style(s) and genre(s) of one’s musical training? We asked expert musicians from three musical genres (folk, jazz, and EDM/hip-hop) to align click tracks and tap in synchrony with genre-specific and genre-neutral sound stimuli to determine the perceptual center (“P-center”) and variability (“beat bin”) for each group of experts. We had three stimulus categories – Organic, Electronic, and Neutral sounds – each of which had a 2 × 2 design of the acoustic factors Attack (fast/slow) and Duration (short/long). We found significant effects of Genre expertise, and a significant interaction for both P-center and P-center variability: folk and jazz musicians synchronize to sounds typical of folk and jazz in a different manner than the EDM/hip-hop producers. The results show that expertise in a specific musical genre affects our low-level perceptions of sounds as well as their affordance(s) for joint action/synchronization. The study provides new insights into the effects of active long-term musical enculturation and skill acquisition on basic sensorimotor synchronization and timing perception, shedding light on the important question of how nature and nurture intersect in the development of our perceptual systems.
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Quiroga-Martinez DR, Hansen NC, Højlund A, Pearce M, Brattico E, Holmes E, Friston K, Vuust P. Musicianship and melodic predictability enhance neural gain in auditory cortex during pitch deviance detection. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:5595-5608. [PMID: 34459062 PMCID: PMC8559476 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
When listening to music, pitch deviations are more salient and elicit stronger prediction error responses when the melodic context is predictable and when the listener is a musician. Yet, the neuronal dynamics and changes in connectivity underlying such effects remain unclear. Here, we employed dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to investigate whether the magnetic mismatch negativity response (MMNm)-and its modulation by context predictability and musical expertise-are associated with enhanced neural gain of auditory areas, as a plausible mechanism for encoding precision-weighted prediction errors. Using Bayesian model comparison, we asked whether models with intrinsic connections within primary auditory cortex (A1) and superior temporal gyrus (STG)-typically related to gain control-or extrinsic connections between A1 and STG-typically related to propagation of prediction and error signals-better explained magnetoencephalography responses. We found that, compared to regular sounds, out-of-tune pitch deviations were associated with lower intrinsic (inhibitory) connectivity in A1 and STG, and lower backward (inhibitory) connectivity from STG to A1, consistent with disinhibition and enhanced neural gain in these auditory areas. More predictable melodies were associated with disinhibition in right A1, while musicianship was associated with disinhibition in left A1 and reduced connectivity from STG to left A1. These results indicate that musicianship and melodic predictability, as well as pitch deviations themselves, enhance neural gain in auditory cortex during deviance detection. Our findings are consistent with predictive processing theories suggesting that precise and informative error signals are selected by the brain for subsequent hierarchical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Quiroga-Martinez
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Niels Christian Hansen
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Andreas Højlund
- Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marcus Pearce
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Elvira Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Emma Holmes
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK
| | - Karl Friston
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University & Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
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Bonetti L, Bruzzone SEP, Sedghi NA, Haumann NT, Paunio T, Kantojärvi K, Kliuchko M, Vuust P, Brattico E. Brain predictive coding processes are associated to COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism. Neuroimage 2021; 233:117954. [PMID: 33716157 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117954] [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] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting events in the ever-changing environment is a fundamental survival function intrinsic to the physiology of sensory systems, whose efficiency varies among the population. Even though it is established that a major source of such variations is genetic heritage, there are no studies tracking down auditory predicting processes to genetic mutations. Thus, we examined the neurophysiological responses to deviant stimuli recorded with magnetoencephalography (MEG) in 108 healthy participants carrying different variants of Val158Met single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, responsible for the majority of catecholamines degradation in the prefrontal cortex. Our results showed significant amplitude enhancement of prediction error responses originating from the inferior frontal gyrus, superior and middle temporal cortices in heterozygous genotype carriers (Val/Met) vs homozygous (Val/Val and Met/Met) carriers. Integrating neurophysiology and genetics, this study shows how the neural mechanisms underlying optimal deviant detection vary according to the gene-determined cathecolamine levels in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Bonetti
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - S E P Bruzzone
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - N A Sedghi
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - N T Haumann
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - T Paunio
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - K Kantojärvi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - M Kliuchko
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - P Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
| | - E Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy
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