title: Speech-in-noise perception in musicians: A review.
abstract: The ability to understand speech in the presence of competing sound sources is an important neuroscience question in terms of how the nervous system solves this computational problem. It is also a critical clinical problem that disproportionally affects the elderly, children with language-related learning disorders, and those with hearing loss. Recent evidence that musicians have an advantage on this multifaceted skill has led to the suggestion that musical training might be used to improve or delay the decline of speech-in-noise (SIN) function. However, enhancements have not been universally reported, nor have the relative contributions of different bottom-up versus top-down processes, and their relation to preexisting factors been disentangled. This information that would be helpful to establish whether there is a real effect of experience, what exactly is its nature, and how future training-based interventions might target the most relevant components of cognitive processes. These questions are complicated by important differences in study design and uneven coverage of neuroimaging modality. In this review, we aim to systematize recent results from studies that have specifically looked at musician-related differences in SIN by their study design properties, to summarize the findings, and to identify knowledge gaps for future work.
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada; International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Quebec, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: emz.coffey@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Emily B J
authors.initials: EBJ
authors.lastname: Coffey
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Nicolette B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Mogilever
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada; International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Quebec, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Zatorre
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003071:Cognition; D032882:Comprehension; D003463:Cues; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception
keywords: Auditory system; Experience-dependent plasticity; Musician; Neuroimaging; Speech-in-noise