scholarly journals The left dorsal stream causally mediates the tone labeling in absolute pitch

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Rogenmoser ◽  
Andra Arnicane ◽  
Lutz Jäncke ◽  
Stefan Elmer
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Absolute Pitch

scholarly journals The left dorsal stream causally mediates the tone labeling in absolute pitch

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Rogenmoser ◽  
Andra Arnicane ◽  
Lutz Jäncke ◽  
Stefan Elmer
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
Sight Reading ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Cathodal Stimulation

AbstractBackgroundAbsolute pitch (AP) refers to the ability of effortlessly identifying given pitches without the reliance on any reference pitch. Correlative evidence suggests that the left posterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is responsible for the process underlying pitch labeling in AP.ObjectiveHere, we aimed at investigating the causal relationship between the DLPFC and the pitch-labeling process underlying AP.MethodsTo address this, we measured sight-reading performance of right-handed AP possessors and matched control musicians (N =18 per sample) under cathodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation of the left DLPFC. The participants were instructed to report visually presenting notations as accurately and fast as possible by playing with their right hand on a piano. The notations were simultaneously presented with distracting auditory stimuli that either matched or mismatched them in different semitone degrees.ResultsUnlike the control participants, the AP possessors revealed an interference effect in that they responded slower in mismatching conditions than in the matching one. Under cathodal stimulation, half of the time discrepancies between matching and mismatching conditions vanished; specifically, the ones with small up to moderate deviations.ConclusionsThese findings confirm that the pitch-labeling process underlying AP occurs automatically and is largely non-suppressible when triggered by tone exposure. The improvement of the AP possessors’ sight-reading performance in response to the suppression of the left DLPFC using cathodal stimulation confirms a causal relationship between this brain structure and pitch labeling.

A Unique Asymmetrical Stroop Effect in Absolute Pitch Possessors

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilach Akiva-Kabiri ◽  
Avishai Henik
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Stroop Task ◽  
Stroop Effect ◽  
Congruency Effect ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Color Naming ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Pitch Processing ◽  
Reverse Pattern

The Stroop task has been employed to study automaticity or failures of selective attention for many years. The effect is known to be asymmetrical, with words affecting color naming but not vice versa. In the current work two auditory-visual Stroop-like tasks were devised in order to study the automaticity of pitch processing in both absolute pitch (AP) possessors and musically trained controls without AP (nAP). In the tone naming task, participants were asked to name the auditory tone while ignoring a visual note name. In the note naming task, participants were asked to read a note name while ignoring the auditory tone. The nAP group showed a significant congruency effect only in the tone naming task, whereas AP possessors showed the reverse pattern, with a significant congruency effect only in the note reading task. Thus, AP possessors were unable to ignore the auditory tone when asked to read the note, but were unaffected by the verbal note name when asked to label the auditory tone. The results suggest that pitch identification in participants endowed with AP ability is automatic and impossible to suppress.

Absolute Pitch and Its Frequency Range

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Rakowski ◽  
Piotr Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Musical Scale ◽  
Loudness Level ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
Upper Boundary

AbstractThis paper has two distinct parts. Section 1 includes general discussion of the phenomenon of "absolute pitch" (AP), and presentation of various concepts concerning definitions of "full", "partial" and "pseudo" AP. Sections 2-4 include presentation of the experiment concerning frequency range in which absolute pitch appears, and discussion of the experimental results. The experiment was performed with participation of 9 AP experts selected from the population of 250 music students as best scoring in the pitch-naming piano-tone screening tests. Each subject had to recognize chromas of 108 pure tones representing the chromatic musical scale of nine octaves from E0 to D#9. The series of 108 tones was presented to each subject 60 times in random order, diotically, with loudness level about 65 phon. Percentage of correct recognitions (PC) for each tone was computed. The frequency range for the existence of absolute pitch in pure tones, perceived by sensitive AP possessors stretches usually over 5 octaves from about 130.6 Hz (C3) to about 3.951 Hz (B7). However, it was noted that in a single case, the upper boundary of AP was 9.397 Hz (D9). The split-halves method was applied to estimate the reliability of the obtained results.

Absolute pitch ability is not associated with advantage in musical tension processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linshu Zhou ◽  
Fang Liu ◽  
Tang Hai ◽  
Jun Jiang ◽  
Dongrui Man ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Discrimination Threshold ◽  
Pitch Change ◽  
Letter Naming ◽  
Direction Discrimination ◽  
Pitch Direction ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Tonal Hierarchy ◽  
The Stability

Absolute pitch (AP), a superior ability of pitch letter naming in the absence of a reference note, has long been viewed as an indicator of human musical talent and thus as evidence for the adaptationist hypothesis of music evolution. Little is known, however, whether AP possessors are superior to non-AP possessors in music processing. The present study investigated whether the AP ability facilitates musical tension processing in perceptual and experienced tasks. Twenty-one AP possessors and 21 matched non-AP possessors were tested using novel melodies in C and non-C contexts. Results indicated that the two groups provided comparable ratings of perceived and felt tension for melodies in both contexts. While AP possessors demonstrated lower accuracy with longer reaction time than non-AP possessors in naming movable solfège syllables for pitch in the pretest, their tension rating profiles showed a similar tonal hierarchy as non-AP possessors in regard to the stability of the ending tones of the melodies in both major and minor keys. Correlation analyses suggested that musical tension ratings were not significantly related to performance in pitch letter, movable solfège syllable naming, pitch change detection threshold, or pitch direction discrimination threshold for either group. These findings suggest that pitch naming abilities (either pitch letter or movable solfège syllable naming) do not benefit processing of perceived or felt musical tension, providing evidence to support the hypothesis that AP ability is not associated with advantage in music processing.

Motor theory modulated by task load: strategies of phonological processing in frontal aphasia revealed by tDCS over the LIFG

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lílian Rodrigues de Almeida ◽  
Paul A. Pope ◽  
Peter Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Motor Theory ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Cathodal Tdcs ◽  
The Individual

In our previous studies we supported the claim that the motor theory is modulated by task load. Motoric participation in phonological processing increases from speech perception to speech production, with the endpoints of the dorsal stream having changing and complementary weightings for processing: the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) being increasingly relevant and the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG) being decreasingly relevant. Our previous results for neurostimulation of the LIFG support this model. In this study we investigated whether our claim that the motor theory is modulated by task load holds in (frontal) aphasia. Person(s) with aphasia (PWA) after stroke typically have damage on brain areas responsible for phonological processing. They may present variable patterns of recovery and, consequently, variable strategies of phonological processing. Here these strategies were investigated in two PWA with simultaneous fMRI and tDCS of the LIFG during speech perception and speech production tasks. Anodal tDCS excitation and cathodal tDCS inhibition should increase with the relevance of the target for the task. Cathodal tDCS over a target of low relevance could also induce compensation by the remaining nodes. Responses of PWA to tDCS would further depend on their pattern of recovery. Responses would depend on the responsiveness of the perilesional area, and could be weaker than in controls due to an overall hypoactivation of the cortex. Results suggest that the analysis of motor codes for articulation during phonological processing remains in frontal aphasia and that tDCS is a promising diagnostic tool to investigate the individual processing strategies.

scholarly journals “Real-time” obstacle avoidance in the absence of primary visual cortex

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (37) ◽  
pp. 15996-16001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Striemer ◽  
Craig S. Chapman ◽  
Melvyn A. Goodale
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Obstacle Avoidance ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Visual Pathways ◽  
Visual Stream ◽  
Reaching Task ◽  
Visual Inputs

When we reach toward objects, we easily avoid potential obstacles located in the workspace. Previous studies suggest that obstacle avoidance relies on mechanisms in the dorsal visual stream in the posterior parietal cortex. One fundamental question that remains unanswered is where the visual inputs to these dorsal-stream mechanisms are coming from. Here, we provide compelling evidence that these mechanisms can operate in “real-time” without direct input from primary visual cortex (V1). In our first experiment, we used a reaching task to demonstrate that an individual with a dense left visual field hemianopia after damage to V1 remained strikingly sensitive to the position of unseen static obstacles placed in his blind field. Importantly, in a second experiment, we showed that his sensitivity to the same obstacles in his blind field was abolished when a short 2-s delay (without vision) was introduced before reach onset. These findings have far-reaching implications, not only for our understanding of the time constraints under which different visual pathways operate, but also in relation to how these seemingly “primitive” subcortical visual pathways can control complex everyday behavior without recourse to conscious vision.

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