Musicians Are Better than Non-musicians in Frequency Change Detection: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

Chun Liang, Brian Earl, Ivy Thompson, Kayla Whitaker, Steven Cahn, Jing Xiang, Qian-Jie Fu, Fawen Zhang, Chun Liang, Brian Earl, Ivy Thompson, Kayla Whitaker, Steven Cahn, Jing Xiang, Qian-Jie Fu, Fawen Zhang

Abstract

Objective: The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine if musicians have a better ability to detect frequency changes under quiet and noisy conditions; (2) to use the acoustic change complex (ACC), a type of electroencephalographic (EEG) response, to understand the neural substrates of musician vs. non-musician difference in frequency change detection abilities. Methods: Twenty-four young normal hearing listeners (12 musicians and 12 non-musicians) participated. All participants underwent psychoacoustic frequency detection tests with three types of stimuli: tones (base frequency at 160 Hz) containing frequency changes (Stim 1), tones containing frequency changes masked by low-level noise (Stim 2), and tones containing frequency changes masked by high-level noise (Stim 3). The EEG data were recorded using tones (base frequency at 160 and 1200 Hz, respectively) containing different magnitudes of frequency changes (0, 5, and 50% changes, respectively). The late-latency evoked potential evoked by the onset of the tones (onset LAEP or N1-P2 complex) and that evoked by the frequency change contained in the tone (the acoustic change complex or ACC or N1'-P2' complex) were analyzed. Results: Musicians significantly outperformed non-musicians in all stimulus conditions. The ACC and onset LAEP showed similarities and differences. Increasing the magnitude of frequency change resulted in increased ACC amplitudes. ACC measures were found to be significantly different between musicians (larger P2' amplitude) and non-musicians for the base frequency of 160 Hz but not 1200 Hz. Although the peak amplitude in the onset LAEP appeared to be larger and latency shorter in musicians than in non-musicians, the difference did not reach statistical significance. The amplitude of the onset LAEP is significantly correlated with that of the ACC for the base frequency of 160 Hz. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that musicians do perform better than non-musicians in detecting frequency changes in quiet and noisy conditions. The ACC and onset LAEP may involve different but overlapping neural mechanisms. Significance: This is the first study using the ACC to examine music-training effects. The ACC measures provide an objective tool for documenting musical training effects on frequency detection.

Keywords: acoustic change complex; auditory evoked potentials; cortex; electrophysiology; frequency change detection.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The frequency detection thresholds of musicians and non-musicians for the three stimulus conditions: tone stimuli containing frequency changes (Stim 1), tones containing frequency changes with low-level noise (Stim 2), and tones containing frequency changes with high-level noise (Stim 3). The error bars indicate standard errors of the means. Asterisks denote significant differences between the groups (p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The grand mean waveforms at electrode Cz from musicians (black traces) and non-musicians (red traces) for 160 Hz (left panel) and 1200 Hz (right panel) with a frequency change of 0% (upper subplots), 5% (middle subplots), and 50% (bottom subplots). The onset LAEP and the ACC are marked in one of these plots. There is no ACC when there is no frequency change.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The onset LAEP measures (N1 latency, P2 latency, and N1-P2 amplitude) for musicians and non-musicians. The error bars indicate standard errors of the means.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The ACC measures (N1′ latency, P2′ latency, N1′ amplitude, P2′ amplitude, and N1′-P2′ amplitude) for musicians and non-musicians. The error bars indicate standard errors of the means. Asterisk denote significant differences between the groups (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Scatter plots of ACC amplitude vs. onset LAEP amplitude for the 160 Hz base frequency with 5 and 50% frequency changes. Data from participants in both musicians and non-musician groups were included. The solid lines show linear regressions fit to the data. The r-value for each fit is shown in each panel.

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