Experience Drives Synchronization: The phase and Amplitude Dynamics of Neural Oscillations to Musical Chords Are Differentially Modulated by Musical Expertise.
Musical expertise is associated with structural and functional changes in the brain that underlie facilitated auditory perception. We investigated whether the phase locking (PL) and amplitude modulations (AM) of neuronal oscillations in response to musical chords are correlated with musical expertise and whether they reflect the prototypicality of chords in Western tonal music. To this aim, we recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) while musicians and non-musicians were presented with common prototypical major and minor chords, and with uncommon, non-prototypical dissonant and mistuned chords, while watching a silenced movie. We then analyzed the PL and AM of ongoing oscillations in the theta (4-8 Hz) alpha (8-14 Hz), beta- (14-30 Hz) and gamma- (30-80 Hz) bands to these chords. We found that musical expertise was associated with strengthened PL of ongoing oscillations to chords over a wide frequency range during the first 300 ms from stimulus onset, as opposed to increased alpha-band AM to chords over temporal MEG channels. In musicians, the gamma-band PL was strongest to non-prototypical compared to other chords, while in non-musicians PL was strongest to minor chords. In both musicians and non-musicians the long-latency (> 200 ms) gamma-band PL was also sensitive to chord identity, and particularly to the amplitude modulations (beats) of the dissonant chord. These findings suggest that musical expertise modulates oscillation PL to musical chords and that the strength of these modulations is dependent on chord prototypicality.
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Karen Johanne
KJ
Pallesen
Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Christopher J
CJ
Bailey
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Elvira
E
Brattico
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Pathophysiology and Experimental Tomography Center, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Albert
A
Gjedde
Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
J Matias
JM
Palva
Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; BioMag laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Satu
S
Palva
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D055815:Young Adult