Brain signal variability as a window into the bidirectionality between music and language processing: moving from a linear to a nonlinear model.
There is convincing empirical evidence for bidirectional transfer between music and language, such that experience in either domain can improve mental processes required by the other. This music-language relationship has been studied using linear models (e.g., comparing mean neural activity) that conceptualize brain activity as a static entity. The linear approach limits how we can understand the brain's processing of music and language because the brain is a nonlinear system. Furthermore, there is evidence that the networks supporting music and language processing interact in a nonlinear manner. We therefore posit that the neural processing and transfer between the domains of language and music are best viewed through the lens of a nonlinear framework. Nonlinear analysis of neurophysiological activity may yield new insight into the commonalities, differences, and bidirectionality between these two cognitive domains not measurable in the local output of a cortical patch. We thus propose a novel application of brain signal variability (BSV) analysis, based on mutual information and signal entropy, to better understand the bidirectionality of music-to-language transfer in the context of a nonlinear framework. This approach will extend current methods by offering a nuanced, network-level understanding of the brain complexity involved in music-language transfer.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada ; NeuroEducation across the Lifespan Laboratory, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Toronto, ON, Canada.
Stefanie
S
Hutka
Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis Memphis, TN, USA ; School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis Memphis, TN, USA.
Gavin M
GM
Bidelman
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada ; NeuroEducation across the Lifespan Laboratory, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sylvain
S
Moreno
brain signal variability; musical training; nonlinear dynamical systems; tone language; transfer effects