Hippocampal sclerosis affects fMR-adaptation of lyrics and melodies in songs

Songs constitute a natural combination of lyrics and melodies, but it is unclear whether and how these two song components are integrated during the emergence of a memory trace. Network theories of memory suggest a prominent role of the hippocampus, together with unimodal sensory areas, in the build-up of conjunctive representations. The present study tested the modulatory influence of the hippocampus on neural adaptation to songs in lateral temporal areas. Patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis and healthy matched controls were presented with blocks of short songs in which lyrics and/or melodies were varied or repeated in a crossed factorial design. Neural adaptation effects were taken as correlates of incidental emergent memory traces. We hypothesized that hippocampal lesions, particularly in the left hemisphere, would weaken adaptation effects, especially the integration of lyrics and melodies. Results revealed that lateral temporal lobe regions showed weaker adaptation to repeated lyrics as well as a reduced interaction of the adaptation effects for lyrics and melodies in patients with left hippocampal sclerosis. This suggests a deficient build-up of a sensory memory trace for lyrics and a reduced integration of lyrics with melodies, compared to healthy controls. Patients with right hippocampal sclerosis showed a similar profile of results although the effects did not reach significance in this population. We highlight the finding that the integrated representation of lyrics and melodies typically shown in healthy participants is likely tied to the integrity of the left medial temporal lobe. This novel finding provides the first neuroimaging evidence for the role of the hippocampus during repetitive exposure to lyrics and melodies and their integration into a song

Music and communication in music psychology

There is a general consensus that music is both universal and communicative, and musical dialogue is a key element in much music-therapeutic practice. However, the idea that music is a communicative medium has, to date, received little attention within the cognitive sciences, and the limited amount of research that addresses how and what music communicates has resulted in findings that appear to be of limited relevance to music therapy. This article will draw on ethnomusicological evidence and an understanding of communication derived from the study of speech to sketch a framework within which to situate and understand music as communicative practice. It will outline some key features of music as an interactive participatory medium – including entrainment and floating intentionality – that can help underpin an understanding of music as communicative, and that may help guide experimental approaches in the cognitive science of music to shed light on the processes involved in musical communication and on the consequences of engagement in communication through music for interacting individuals. It will suggest that the development of such approaches may enable the cognitive sciences to provide a more comprehensive, predictive understanding of music in interaction that could be of direct benefit to music therapy. This is the accepted manuscript version. The final version is available at http://pom.sagepub.com/content/42/6/809.full.pdf+htm

Singing and Pronunciation: A Review of the Literature

Observed differences exist in the pronunciation abilities of individual language learners, especially adult learners. Musical ability and experience are possible factors that have been attributed to language pronunciation abilities. Although there has been a large amount of research concerning the effects of general musical ability and training on language abilities, very few studies have investigated the musical sub-category of singing. Research on the use of songs in the language classroom has largely tested the effects of song on vocabulary acquisition, while very few studies have explored the effects of song on pronunciation. Given that singing and pronunciation both use similar productive systems, the relationship between singing and pronunciation merits investigation. This review looks critically at the current research on singing and pronunciation abilities. Evidence from the current research shows that both singers and instrumental musicians perform better than non-musicians on language imitation tasks, and in some cases higher singing ability has a stronger effect on pronunciation performance than musicality alone. There is also evidence that singing and songs support sound memory and the verbatim recall of words when associated with simple melodies. The studies also indicate that working memory plays a large role in pronunciation performance, but this may be due to the studies’ experimental setups which use working memory heavy tasks. Rhythmic perception abilities and the use of distinct pitches for syllables may contribute to better word segmentation. Researchers’ conclusions concerning the relationship between singing and pronunciation abilities address the multi-dimensional nature of pronunciation ability, similarities between song and infant-directed language input, and the neurological overlap of language, music, singing, and memory. The limitations of current research are that most of the studies relied on languages unfamiliar to subjects to test pronunciation, which could disproportionately represent the importance of working memory as a factor in pronunciation. Research on the benefits of song on pronunciation is promising, but because the current pool of research on singing and pronunciation is very limited, more research is needed

Bringing imagination back to the classroom: A model for creative arts in economics

AbstractThis paper draws from the cognitive and neuroscience literature to develop theoretical support for the use of creative arts in college economics classrooms. The research suggests that creative arts activate important neurological pathways that aid the transfer of information from short- to long-term memory, where it can be retrieved for future problem-solving. To encourage meaningful learning and economic literacy, students must be able to mentally organize and retain information from their classroom experiences. The fresh metaphors and imagery present in creative arts such as poetry can deepen and clarify conceptual meaning, and allow students to learn and express their understanding of economics in a more personal and memorable way

Electrophysiological Response to Classical Music in Instrumentalists, Vocalists, and Non-Musicians

Musical experience has been shown to impact electrophysiological response in response to sudden changes in music. The purpose of this exploratory case study is to investigate responses to a variety of continuous classical music stimuli in individuals with varying musical backgrounds, through the use of electroencephalography (EEG). Individuals were categorized as instrumentalists (5+ years of instrumental training), vocalists (5+ years of vocal training), or non-musicians (training). Participants were played a variety of classical vocal and instrumental music while an EEG was recorded. Data were then collected and analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) and time/frequency analysis through EEGLAB. It was found that overall, both instrumentalists and vocalists had a greater electrophysiological response to musical stimuli, specifically in the frontal lobe than the non-musician. The vocalist also had a significantly greater electrophysiological response to the musical stimuli that were most similar to their experience and expertise. This indicates that expertise and familiarity with a genre of music may impact the electrophysiological response. While this only a case study with a small sample size, the results indicate that there is potential for impactful further research about how individuals of different musical backgrounds respond to a variety of continuous musical stimuli based on their experiences

Experimental Evidence on Connections between Speech and Music : Possible Applications on Learning

Peer reviewe

Insight into the neurophysiological processes of melodically intoned language with functional MRI

Background: Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) uses the melodic elements of speech to improve language production in severe nonfluent aphasia. A crucial element of MIT is the melodically intoned auditory input: the patient listens to the therapist singing a target utterance. Such input of melodically intoned language facilitates production, whereas auditory input of spoken language does not. Methods: Using a sparse sampling fMRI sequence, we examined the differential auditory processing of spoken and melodically intoned language. Nineteen right-handed healthy volunteers performed an auditory lexical decision task in an event related design consisting of spoken and melodically intoned meaningful and meaningless items. The control conditions consisted of neutral utterances, either melodically intoned or spoken. Results: Irrespective of whether the items were normally spoken or melodically intoned, meaningful items showed greater activation in the supramarginal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, predominantly in the left hemisphere. Melodically intoned language activated both temporal lobes rather symmetrically, as well as the right frontal lobe cortices, indicating that these regions are engaged in the acoustic complexity of melodically intoned stimuli. Compared to spoken language, melodically intoned language activated sensory motor regions and articulatory language networks in the left hemisphere, but only when meaningful language was used. Discussion: Our results suggest that the facilitatory effect of MIT may - in part - depend on an auditory input which combines melody and meaning. Conclusion: Combined melody and meaning provide a sound basis for the further investigation of melodic language processing in aphasic patients, and eventually the neurophysiological processes underlying MIT. Compared to spoken language, melodically intoned language activated sensory motor regions and articulatory language networks in the left hemisphere, but only when meaningful language was used. Our results suggest that the facilitatory effect of MIT may - in part - depend on an auditory input which combines melody and meaning. As such, they provide a sound basis for further investigation of melodic language processing in aphasic patients, and eventually the neurophysiological processes underlying MIT

Resting-state language network neuroplasticity in post-stroke music listening: A randomized controlled trial

Recent evidence suggests that post-stroke vocal music listening can aid language recovery, but the network-level functional neuroplasticity mechanisms of this effect are unknown. Here, we sought to determine if improved language recovery observed after post-stroke listening to vocal music is driven by changes in longitudinal resting-state functional connectivity within the language network. Using data from a single-blind randomized controlled trial on stroke patients (N = 38), we compared the effects of daily listening to self-selected vocal music, instrumental music and audio books on changes of the resting-state functional connectivity within the language network and their correlation to improved language skills and verbal memory during the first 3 months post-stroke. From acute to 3-month stage, the vocal music and instrumental music groups increased functional connectivity between a cluster comprising the left inferior parietal areas and the language network more than the audio book group. However, the functional connectivity increase correlated with improved verbal memory only in the vocal music group cluster. This study shows that listening to vocal music post-stroke promotes recovery of verbal memory by inducing changes in longitudinal functional connectivity in the language network. Our results conform to the variable neurodisplacement theory underpinning aphasia recovery.Peer reviewe

La relevancia de la música en el desarrollo lingüístico de los bebés

In the last twenty years, a large number of studies have focused on understanding the brain mechanisms that support the learning of both language and music. Both language and music develop over time, based on individual phonic elements that are combined to form longer, more complex structures, following specific rules that allow the construction of expectations. Questions regarding whether music can improve acquisition of the mother tongue or facilitate the processing of specific aspects of language are of great interest, both for fundamental research, which informs us about the general functioning of the brain, and more clinical research, using music as a diagnostic or rehabilitation tool for children with learning disorders. In this article I review the relationship between the perception of language and music in the first years of life, describing the developmental trajectories of both perceptive abilities. I also present the limited evidence that demonstrates the positive effect of early musical stimulation on language processing, emphasizing the role of singing in the initial stages of acquisition of the mother tongue.En este artículo se revisan las relaciones entre la percepción del lenguaje y de la música en los primeros años de vida, describiendo las trayectorias de desarrollo de ambas habilidades perceptivas. También se presentan las pocas evidencias que demuestran un efecto positivo de una estimulación musical temprana sobre el procesamiento del lenguaje, poniendo énfasis en el papel del canto en los primeros pasos

Stimulus-Related Independent Component and Voxel-Wise Analysis of Human Brain Activity during Free Viewing of a Feature Film

Understanding how the brain processes stimuli in a rich natural environment is a fundamental goal of neuroscience. Here, we showed a feature film to 10 healthy volunteers during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of hemodynamic brain activity. We then annotated auditory and visual features of the motion picture to inform analysis of the hemodynamic data. The annotations were fitted to both voxel-wise data and brain network time courses extracted by independent component analysis (ICA). Auditory annotations correlated with two independent components (IC) disclosing two functional networks, one responding to variety of auditory stimulation and another responding preferentially to speech but parts of the network also responding to non-verbal communication. Visual feature annotations correlated with four ICs delineating visual areas according to their sensitivity to different visual stimulus features. In comparison, a separate voxel-wise general linear model based analysis disclosed brain areas preferentially responding to sound energy, speech, music, visual contrast edges, body motion and hand motion which largely overlapped the results revealed by ICA. Differences between the results of IC- and voxel-based analyses demonstrate that thorough analysis of voxel time courses is important for understanding the activity of specific sub-areas of the functional networks, while ICA is a valuable tool for revealing novel information about functional connectivity which need not be explained by the predefined model. Our results encourage the use of naturalistic stimuli and tasks in cognitive neuroimaging to study how the brain processes stimuli in rich natural environments