Musicians are often reported to have enhanced neurophysiological functions, especially in the auditory system. Musical training is thought improve nervous system function by focusing attention on meaningful acoustic cues, and these improvements processing cascade language cognitive skills. Correlational studies musician enhancements a variety of populations across life span. In light reports, educators considering potential for co-curricular music programs provide auditory-cognitive...

Abstract A passively elicited cortical potential that reflects the brain's discrimination of small acoustic contrasts was measured in response to two slightly different speech stimuli adult human subjects. Behavioral training those resulted a significant change duration and magnitude potential. The results demonstrate listening can neurophysiologic responses central auditory system just-perceptible differences speech.

Cortical analysis of speech has long been considered the domain left-hemisphere auditory areas. A recent hypothesis poses that cortical processing acoustic signals, including speech, is mediated bilaterally based on component rates inherent to signal. In support this hypothesis, previous studies have shown slow temporal features (3–5 Hz) in nonspeech signals lateralize right-hemisphere areas, whereas rapid (20–50 left hemisphere. These results were obtained using stimuli, and it not known...

Although it is largely agreed that phonological processing deficits are a major cause of poor reading, the neural origins not well understood. We now show, for first time, decoding, measured with test single-nonword significantly correlated timing subcortical auditory and also, to lesser extent, robustness representation harmonic content speech, but pitch encoding. The relationships we observe between reading fall along continuum, readers at one end good other. These data suggest skill may...

Children with reading impairments have deficits in phonological awareness, phonemic categorization, speech-in-noise perception, and psychophysical tasks such as frequency temporal discrimination. Many of these children also exhibit abnormal encoding speech stimuli the auditory brainstem, even though responses to click are normal. In typically developing brainstem response reflects acoustic differences between contrastive stop consonants. The current study investigated whether this...

The search for a unique biological marker of language-based learning disabilities has so far yielded inconclusive findings. Previous studies have shown plethora auditory processing deficits in at both the perceptual and physiological levels. In this study, we investigated association among brainstem timing, cortical stimulus differences, literacy skills. To that end, timing sensitivity to acoustic change [mismatch negativity (MMN)] were measured group children with normal-learning children....

1. The mismatch response, or negativity (MMN), is a neurophysiologic response to stimulus change. In humans and other animals, the MMN may underlie ability discriminate acoustic differences, fundamental aspect of auditory perception. 2. This study investigated role thalamus in generation tone-evoked guinea pigs. Electrodes were placed caudomedial (nonprimary) ventral (primary) subdivisions (medial geniculate nucleus). Surface epidural electrodes at midline over temporal lobe. was elicited by...

Language impairment is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The origin the deficit poorly understood although deficiencies in auditory processing have been detected both perception and cortical encoding speech sounds. Little known about transcription sounds at earlier (brainstem) levels or how background noise may impact this process. Unlike sounds, brainstem representation preserves stimulus features with degree fidelity that enables direct link between acoustic components...

Development of the human auditory brainstem is thought to be primarily complete by age approximately 2 years, such that subsequent sensory plasticity confined cortex. However, recent findings have revealed experience-dependent developmental in mammalian an animal model. It not known whether system demonstrates similar changes and experience with sounds composed acoustic elements relevant speech may alter response characteristics. We recorded responses evoked both click syllables children...

Children with reading impairments have long been associated impaired perception for rapidly presented acoustic stimuli and recently shown deficits slower features. It is not known whether low-frequency features negatively impact processing of speech in reading-impaired individuals. Here we provide neurophysiological evidence that poor readers representation the envelope, acoustical cue provides syllable pattern information speech. We measured cortical-evoked potentials response to sentence...

Learning to read is a fundamental developmental milestone, and achieving reading competency has lifelong consequences. Although literacy development proceeds smoothly for many children, subset struggle with this learning process, creating need identify reliable biomarkers of child's future that could facilitate early diagnosis access crucial interventions. Neural markers skills have been identified in school-aged children adults; pertain the precision information processing noise, but it...

Hemispheric asymmetries in the processing of elemental speech sounds appear to be critical for normal perception. This study investigated effects age on hemispheric asymmetry observed neurophysiological responses stimuli three groups hearing, right-handed subjects: children (ages, 8–11 years), young adults 20–25 and older (ages > 55 years). Peak-to-peak response amplitudes auditory cortical P1–N1 complex obtained over right left temporal lobes were examined determine degree left/right...