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Musical Experience Promotes Subcortical Efficiency in Processing Emotional Vocal Sounds
Author(s) -
Strait Dana L.,
Kraus Nina,
Skoe Erika,
Ashley Richard
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04864.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , cognitive psychology , salient , musical , auditory perception , emotion perception , communication , neuroscience , computer science , art , artificial intelligence , visual arts
To understand how musical experience influences subcortical processing of emotionally salient sounds, we recorded brain stem potentials to affective vocal sounds. Our results suggest that auditory expertise engenders subcortical auditory processing efficiency that is intricately connected with acoustic features important for the communication of emotion. This establishes a subcortical role in the auditory processing of emotional cues, providing the first biological evidence for musicians’ enhanced perception of vocally expressed emotion.