Musicians Do Better than Nonmusicians in Both Auditory and Visual Timing Tasks

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Rammsayer ◽  
Franziska Buttkus ◽  
Eckart Altenmüller
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Temporal Acuity ◽  
Music Training ◽  
Temporal Information Processing ◽  
Timing Ability ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Temporal Generalization ◽  
Formally Trained ◽  
Better Than

the present study was designed to investigate differences in auditory and visual temporal information processing between musicians and nonmusicians. For this purpose, timing performance on a set of six different psychophysical temporal tasks for both the auditory and visual sensory modalities was compared in 40 formally trained musicians and 40 controls without musical experience. Across modalities, superior temporal acuity for musicians compared to nonmusicians could be shown for all temporal tasks except for temporal generalization. When comparing the two sensory modalities, temporal acuity was superior to auditory stimuli as compared to visual stimuli, with the exception of the temporal generalization task in the 1-s range. The overall pattern of our findings is consistent with the notion that musicians' long-lasting intensive music training, starting in childhood, improves general timing ability irrespective of sensory modality.

scholarly journals Temporal Perception and Attention in Trained Musicians

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-312
Author(s):  
Jonas Vibell ◽  
Ahnate Lim ◽  
Scott Sinnett
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Temporal Discrimination ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Temporal Acuity ◽  
Music Training ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Perceptual Skills ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Processing Information

Considerable evidence converges on the plasticity of attention and the possibility that it can be modulated through regular training. Music training, for instance, has been correlated with modulations of early perceptual and attentional processes. However, the extent to which music training can modulate mechanisms involved in processing information (i.e., perception and attention) is still widely unknown, particularly between sensory modalities. If training in one sensory modality can lead to concomitant enhancements in different sensory modalities, then this could be taken as evidence of a supramodal attentional system. Additionally, if trained musicians exhibit improved perceptual skills outside of the domain of music, this could be taken as evidence for the notion of far-transfer, where training in one domain can lead to improvements in another. To investigate this further, we evaluated the effects of music training using tasks designed to measure simultaneity perception and temporal acuity, and how these are influenced by music training in auditory, visual, and audio-visual conditions. Trained musicians showed significant enhancements for simultaneity perception in the visual modality, as well as generally improved temporal acuity, although not in all conditions. Visual cues directing attention influenced simultaneity perception for musicians for visual discrimination and temporal accuracy in auditory discrimination, suggesting that musicians have selective enhancements in temporal discrimination, arguably due to increased attentional efficiency when compared to nonmusicians. Implications for theory and future training studies are discussed.

Temporal Information Processing in Musicians and Nonmusicians

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Rammsayer ◽  
Eckart Altenmüller
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Temporal Discrimination ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
General Notion ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Temporal Acuity ◽  
Temporal Information Processing ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Temporal Generalization

The present study was designed to examine the general notion that temporal information processing is more accurate in musicians than in nonmusicians. For this purpose, 36 academically trained musicians and 36 nonmusicians performed seven different auditory temporal tasks. Superior temporal acuity for musicians compared to nonmusicians was shown for auditory fusion, rhythm perception, and three temporal discrimination tasks. The two groups did not differ, however, in terms of their performance on two tasks of temporal generalization. Musicians’superior performance appeared to be limited to aspects of timing which are considered to be automatically and immediately derived from online perceptual processing of temporal information. Unlike immediate online processing of temporal information, temporal generalizations, which involve a reference memory of sorts, seemed not to be influenced by extensive music training.

Comparing Primary Voice-Hearers with and without Hallucinations in Other Sensory Modalities

2021 ◽  
pp. 214-220
Author(s):  
Wei Lin Toh ◽  
Neil Thomas ◽  
Susan L. Rossell
Keyword(s):  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Auditory Hallucination ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Auditory Hallucinations ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Positive Symptoms ◽  
Psychotic Experiences ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Preliminary Study

There has been burgeoning interest in studying hallucinations in psychosis occurring across multiple sensory modalities. The current study aimed to characterize the auditory hallucination and delusion profiles in patients with auditory hallucinations only versus those with multisensory hallucinations. Participants with psychosis were partitioned into groups with voices only (AVH; <i>n</i> = 50) versus voices plus hallucinations in at least one other sensory modality (AVH+; <i>n</i> = 50), based on their responses on the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Basic demographic and clinical information was collected, and the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE) was used to assess psychosis phenomenology. Relative to the AVH group, greater compliance to perceived commands, auditory illusions, and sensed presences was significantly elevated in the AVH+ group. The latter group also had greater levels of delusion-related distress and functional impairment and was more likely to endorse delusions of reference and misidentification. This preliminary study uncovered important phenomenological differences in those with multisensory hallucinations. Future hallucination research extending beyond the auditory modality is needed.

scholarly journals Synaesthesia in Autism

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.B. Bogdashina
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Stimulation Of

Synaesthesia — a phenomenon of perception, when stimulation of one sensory modality triggers a perception in one or more other sensory modalities. Synaesthesia is not uniform and can manifest itself in different ways. As the sensations and their interpretation vary in different periods of time, it makes it hard to study this phenom¬enon. The article presents the classification of different forms of synaesthesia, including sensory and cognitive; and bimodal and multimodal synaesthesia. Some synaesthetes have several forms and variants of synaesthesia, while others – just one form of it. Although synaesthesia is not specific to autism spectrum disorders, it is quite common among autistic individuals. The article deals with the most common forms of synaesthesia in autism, advantages and problems of synesthetic perception in children with autism spectrum disorders, and provides some advice to parents how to recognise synaesthesia in children with autism.

Accurate reaction time methods demonstrate similar results from different sensory modalities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Drew McRacken ◽  
Maddie Dyson ◽  
Kevin Hu
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Reaction Time Methods ◽  
Test Reaction ◽  
Reaction Time Variability ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Visual Reaction ◽  
The Impact

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant number of reports that suggested that reaction times for different sensory modalities were different – e.g., that visual reaction time was slower than tactile reaction time. A recent report by Holden and colleagues stated that (1) there has been a significant historic upward drift in reaction times reported in the literature, (2) that this drift or degradation in reaction times could be accounted for by inaccuracies in the methods used and (3) that these inaccurate methods led to inaccurate reporting of differences between visual and tactile based reaction time testing.  The Holden study utilized robotics (i.e., no human factors) to test visual and tactile reaction time methods but did not assess how individuals would perform on different sensory modalities.  This study utilized three different sensory modalities: visual, auditory, and tactile, to test reaction time. By changing the way in which the subjects were prompted and measuring subsequent reaction time, the impact of sensory modality could be analyzed. Reaction time testing for two sensory modalities, auditory and visual, were administered through an Arduino Uno microcontroller device, while tactile-based reaction time testing was administered with the Brain Gauge. A range of stimulus intensities was delivered for the reaction times delivered by each sensory modality. The average reaction time and reaction time variability was assessed and a trend could be identified for the reaction time measurements of each of the sensory modalities. Switching the sensory modality did not result in a difference in reaction time and it was concluded that this was due to the implementation of accurate circuitry used to deliver each test. Increasing stimulus intensity for each sensory modality resulted in faster reaction times. The results of this study confirm the findings of Holden and colleagues and contradict the results reported in countless studies that conclude that (1) reaction times are historically slower now than they were 50 years ago and (2) that there are differences in reaction times for different sensory modalities (vision, hearing, tactile). The implications of this are that utilization of accurate reaction time methods could have a significant impact on clinical outcomes and that many methods in current clinical use are basically perpetuating poor methods and wasting time and money of countless subjects or patients.

scholarly journals One Tap at a Time: Correlating Sensorimotor Synchronization with Brain Signatures of Temporal Processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina M D’Andrea-Penna ◽  
John R Iversen ◽  
Andrea A Chiba ◽  
Alexander K Khalil ◽  
Victor H Minces
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Sensorimotor Synchronization ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Passive Listening ◽  
Timing Ability ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Neural Marker ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Potential Complex

Abstract The ability to integrate our perceptions across sensory modalities and across time, to execute and coordinate movements, and to adapt to a changing environment rests on temporal processing. Timing is essential for basic daily tasks, such as walking, social interaction, speech and language comprehension, and attention. Impaired temporal processing may contribute to various disorders, from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia to Parkinson’s disease and dementia. The foundational importance of timing ability has yet to be fully understood; and popular tasks used to investigate behavioral timing ability, such as sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), engage a variety of processes in addition to the neural processing of time. The present study utilizes SMS in conjunction with a separate passive listening task that manipulates temporal expectancy while recording electroencephalographic data. Participants display a larger N1-P2 evoked potential complex to unexpected beats relative to temporally predictable beats, a differential we call the timing response index (TRI). The TRI correlates with performance on the SMS task: better synchronizers show a larger brain response to unexpected beats. The TRI, derived from the perceptually driven N1-P2 complex, disentangles the perceptual and motor components inherent in SMS and thus may serve as a neural marker of a more general temporal processing.

scholarly journals A Review of Multimodal Hallucinations: Categorization, Assessment, Theoretical Perspectives, and Clinical Recommendations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella Montagnese ◽  
Pantelis Leptourgos ◽  
Charles Fernyhough ◽  
Flavie Waters ◽  
Frank Larøi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service User Involvement ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Underlying Processes

Abstract Hallucinations can occur in different sensory modalities, both simultaneously and serially in time. They have typically been studied in clinical populations as phenomena occurring in a single sensory modality. Hallucinatory experiences occurring in multiple sensory systems—multimodal hallucinations (MMHs)—are more prevalent than previously thought and may have greater adverse impact than unimodal ones, but they remain relatively underresearched. Here, we review and discuss: (1) the definition and categorization of both serial and simultaneous MMHs, (2) available assessment tools and how they can be improved, and (3) the explanatory power that current hallucination theories have for MMHs. Overall, we suggest that current models need to be updated or developed to account for MMHs and to inform research into the underlying processes of such hallucinatory phenomena. We make recommendations for future research and for clinical practice, including the need for service user involvement and for better assessment tools that can reliably measure MMHs and distinguish them from other related phenomena.

scholarly journals Hand size underestimation grows during childhood

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucilla Cardinali ◽  
Andrea Serino ◽  
Monica Gori
Keyword(s):  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
The Body ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Cognitive Representations ◽  
Hand Size ◽  
Infancy And Childhood ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Sensory Maps ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Cortical body size representations are distorted in the adult, from low-level motor and sensory maps to higher levels multisensory and cognitive representations. Little is known about how such representations are built and evolve during infancy and childhood. Here we investigated how hand size is represented in typically developing children aged 6 to 10. Participants were asked to estimate their hand size using two different sensory modalities (visual or haptic). We found a distortion (underestimation) already present in the youngest children. Crucially, such distortion increases with age and regardless of the sensory modality used to access the representation. Finally, underestimation is specific for the body as no bias was found for object estimation. This study suggests that the brain does not keep up with the natural body growth. However, since motor behavior nor perception were impaired, the distortion seems functional and/or compensated for, for proper interaction with the external environment.

Microelectrode study of dorsal spinocerebellar tract

1962 ◽  
Vol 203 (5) ◽  
pp. 799-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Kitai ◽  
F. Morin
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
The Body ◽  
Joint Movement ◽  
Ipsilateral Side ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Spinocerebellar Tract ◽  
Stimulation Of

The dorsal spinocerebellar tract (DSCT) at C-1, C-2, and the lower medulla level was studied with microelectrodes in lightly anesthetized cats. All responses were obtained from the stimulation of the ipsilateral side of the body. The sensory modalities activating the total of 242 fibers studied were touch (53%), pressure (31%), touch and pressure (2%), and joint movement (14%). Responses to touch were more numerous for the forelimb, while responses to pressure and to joint movement were more numerous for the hind limb. Regardless of modalities the trunk was significantly less represented in the DSCT than the limbs. Tactile and pressure peripheral fields were restricted (i.e., a few hairs of a paw) and large (i.e., more than one segment of a limb). The ratio of restricted to large fields for touch was 7 to 1, and for pressure 5 to 1. Fibers activated by joint movements adjusted their frequency of firing to the degree of displacement and to the rate of the movement. There was no evidence for a separate anatomical segregation of fibers responding to a single sensory modality.

scholarly journals Sounds of sickness: can people identify infectious disease using sounds of coughs and sneezes?

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1928) ◽  
pp. 20200944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Michalak ◽  
Oliver Sng ◽  
Iris M. Wang ◽  
Joshua Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Threat Detection ◽  
Infected Person ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Key Aspects

Cough, cough. Is that person sick, or do they just have a throat tickle? A growing body of research suggests pathogen threats shape key aspects of human sociality. However, less research has investigated specific processes involved in pathogen threat detection. Here, we examine whether perceivers can accurately detect pathogen threats using an understudied sensory modality—sound. Participants in four studies judged whether cough and sneeze sounds were produced by people infected with a communicable disease or not. We found no evidence that participants could accurately identify the origins of these sounds. Instead, the more disgusting they perceived a sound to be, the more likely they were to judge that it came from an infected person (regardless of whether it did). Thus, unlike research indicating perceivers can accurately diagnose infection using other sensory modalities (e.g. sight, smell), we find people overperceive pathogen threat in subjectively disgusting sounds.

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