Laterality effects for music perception among differentially talented adolescents.
To examine the comparative nature of laterality patterns for music perception among differentially talented adolescents, 138 right-handed subjects (56 boys, 82 girls) trained in music, mathematics, and dance, respectively, were tested on dichotic chords and dichotic melodies tasks. Analyses demonstrated that only the musically trained subjects displayed task-dependent ear asymmetry, that is, a left-ear advantage for dichotic chords and a right-ear advantage for dichotic melodies. The mathematically and dance-talented students displayed a left-ear bias for both tasks of music perception. A control dichotic speech task showed a right-ear bias for all talent groups. The findings speak to how sensory information is managed by the mental-processing systems of differentially talented students and how talent training plays a role in shaping ear asymmetry.
Piro
J M
JM
Center for Gifted Youth, Long Island University, Brookville, NY 11548.
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004007:Dichotic Listening Tests; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009146:Music; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students