title: The role of rhythm in perceiving speech in noise: a comparison of percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians.
abstract: The natural rhythms of speech help a listener follow what is being said, especially in noisy conditions. There is increasing evidence for links between rhythm abilities and language skills; however, the role of rhythm-related expertise in perceiving speech in noise is unknown. The present study assesses musical competence (rhythmic and melodic discrimination), speech-in-noise perception and auditory working memory in young adult percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians. Outcomes reveal that better ability to discriminate rhythms is associated with better sentence-in-noise (but not words-in-noise) perception across all participants. These outcomes suggest that sensitivity to rhythm helps a listener understand unfolding speech patterns in degraded listening conditions, and that observations of a "musician advantage" for speech-in-noise perception may be mediated in part by superior rhythm skills.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.|Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. nkraus@northwestern.edu.|Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. nkraus@northwestern.edu.|Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. nkraus@northwestern.edu.|Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. nkraus@northwestern.edu.|Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA. nkraus@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kraus
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009146:Music; D009622:Noise; D010474:Percussion; D063346:Singing / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Auditory; Language; Listening; Music; Rhythm; Speech-in-noise perception; Temporal processing