title: Effects of vocal training in a musicophile with congenital amusia.
abstract: Congenital amusia is a condition in which an individual suffers from a deficit of musical pitch perception and production. Individuals suffering from congenital amusia generally tend to abstain from musical activities. Here, we present the unique case of Tim Falconer, a self-described musicophile who also suffers from congenital amusia. We describe and assess Tim's attempts to train himself out of amusia through a self-imposed 18-month program of formal vocal training and practice. We tested Tim with respect to music perception and vocal production across seven sessions including pre- and post-training assessments. We also obtained diffusion-weighted images of his brain to assess connectivity between auditory and motor planning areas via the arcuate fasciculus (AF). Tim's behavioral and brain data were compared to that of normal and amusic controls. While Tim showed temporary gains in his singing ability, he did not reach normal levels, and these gains faded when he was not engaged in regular lessons and practice. Tim did show some sustained gains with respect to the perception of musical rhythm and meter. We propose that Tim's lack of improvement in pitch perception and production tasks is due to long-standing and likely irreversible reduction in connectivity along the AF fiber tract.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Ryerson University , Toronto , Canada.|b Department of Psychology , Mount Allison University , Sackville , Canada.
authors.forename: Jonathan M P
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wilbiks
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Skidmore College , Saratoga Springs , NY , USA.|d International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) , Montreal , Canada.
authors.forename: Dominique T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Vuvan
authors.affiliation: d International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) , Montreal , Canada.|e Département de psychologie , Université de Montréal , Montreal , Canada.
authors.forename: Pier-Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Girard
authors.affiliation: d International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) , Montreal , Canada.|e Département de psychologie , Université de Montréal , Montreal , Canada.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Peretz
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Ryerson University , Toronto , Canada.
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Russo
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016880:Anisotropy; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013663:Teaching; D014831:Voice
keywords: Congenital amusia; diffusion tractography; musical training