title: Relative influence of musical and linguistic experience on early cortical processing of pitch contours.
abstract: To assess domain specificity of experience-dependent pitch representation we evaluated the mismatch negativity (MMN) and discrimination judgments of English musicians, English nonmusicians, and native Chinese for pitch contours presented in a nonspeech context using a passive oddball paradigm. Stimuli consisted of homologues of Mandarin high rising (T2) and high level (T1) tones, and a linear rising ramp (T2L). One condition involved a between-category contrast (T1/T2), the other, a within-category contrast (T2L/T2). Irrespective of condition, musicians and Chinese showed larger MMN responses than nonmusicians; Chinese larger than musicians. Chinese, however, were less accurate than nonnatives in overt discrimination of T2L and T2. Taken together, these findings suggest that experience-dependent effects to pitch contours are domain-general and not driven by linguistic categories. Yet specific differences in long-term experience in pitch processing between domains (music vs. language) may lead to gradations in cortical plasticity to pitch contours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech Language Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038, USA.
authors.forename: Bharath
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chandrasekaran
authors.forename: Ananthanarayan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: Jackson T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Gandour
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D010700:Phonetics; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult