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Neurodynamics, tonality, and the auditory brainstem response
Author(s) -
Large Edward W.,
Almonte Felix V.
Publication year - 2012
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.1749-6632.2012.06594.x
Subject(s) - melody , tonality , psychology , perception , population , cognitive psychology , dynamics (music) , neuroscience , cognition , neurophysiology , functional magnetic resonance imaging , brainstem , auditory perception , musical , art , pedagogy , demography , sociology , visual arts
Tonal relationships are foundational in music, providing the basis upon which musical structures, such as melodies, are constructed and perceived. A recent dynamic theory of musical tonality predicts that networks of auditory neurons resonate nonlinearly to musical stimuli. Nonlinear resonance leads to stability and attraction relationships among neural frequencies, and these neural dynamics give rise to the perception of relationships among tones that we collectively refer to as tonal cognition. Because this model describes the dynamics of neural populations, it makes specific predictions about human auditory neurophysiology. Here, we show how predictions about the auditory brainstem response (ABR) are derived from the model. To illustrate, we derive a prediction about population responses to musical intervals that has been observed in the human brainstem. Our modeled ABR shows qualitative agreement with important features of the human ABR. This provides a source of evidence that fundamental principles of auditory neurodynamics might underlie the perception of tonal relationships, and forces reevaluation of the role of learning and enculturation in tonal cognition.