Musical experience shapes human brainstem encoding of linguistic pitch patterns
Open accessAbstract
Music and speech are very cognitively demanding auditory phenomena generally attributed to cortical rather than subcortical circuitry. We examined brainstem encoding of linguistic pitch and found that musicians show more robust and faithful encoding compared with nonmusicians. These results not only implicate a common subcortical manifestation for two presumed cortical functions, but also a possible reciprocity of corticofugal speech and music tuning, providing neurophysiological explanations for musicians' higher language-learning ability.
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In adults, the cABR is malleable by higher-level processes, such as early language and music experience, as well as short-term training.
“In adults, instead of a passive relay for information up through the auditory system, the cABR has been shown to be malleable by higher-level processes, such as early language and music experience, as well as short-term training [42–44].”
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- Authors
- Wong, P. C. M., Skoe, E., Russo, N. M., Dees, T., & Kraus, N.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wong, Patrick C M
- Venue
- Nature Neuroscience
- Published
- 2007-03-11
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 420-422
- ISSN
- 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
- 1546-1726
- PMC
- PMC4508274
- OpenAlex
- W2006718624
- Cited by
- 954
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 62 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 51 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 68 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 70 · 2012: 51
- FWCI
- 23.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Northwestern University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R21DC007468, R01DC001510)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03HD051827)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
- Keywords
- musical training, musicians, subcortical auditory processing, corticofugal modulation, language learning ability, auditory cortex
- MeSH terms
- Acoustic Stimulation, Brain Mapping, Brain Stem, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Female, Humans, Linguistics, Male, Music, Occupations, Pitch Discrimination, Pitch Perception, Reaction Time, Time Factors
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