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Musical training modulates encoding of higher‐order regularities in the auditory cortex
Author(s) -
Herholz Sibylle C.,
Boh Bastiaan,
Pantev Christo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07775.x
Subject(s) - magnetoencephalography , auditory cortex , psychology , neuroplasticity , tone (literature) , neuroscience , mismatch negativity , cognitive psychology , lateralization of brain function , encoding (memory) , audiology , electroencephalography , medicine , art , literature
We investigated the effect of long‐term musical training on the time course of development of neuronal representations within the auditory cortex by means of magnetoencephalography. In musicians but not in nonmusicians, pre‐attentive encoding of a complex regularity within a tone sequence was evident by a constant increase of the pattern mismatch negativity within < 10 min. The group difference was more pronounced in the left hemisphere, indicating stronger plastic changes in its structures supporting temporal analysis and sound pattern encoding. The results suggest an effect of long‐term musical training on short‐term auditory learning processes. This has implications not only for cognitive neuroscience in showing how short‐term and long‐term neuronal plasticity can interact within the auditory cortex, but also for educational and clinical applications of implicit auditory learning where beneficial effects of (musical) experience might be exploited.