Neuroscience 2003 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 18.1 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Musical processing in young children aged 5 to 7: an fMRI study. |
| Authors: |
Overy, K.*1
; Norton, A.1
; Alsop, D.1
; Gaab, N.1
; Winner, E.1
; Schlaug, G.1
1Neurol., Beth Israel Deaconess Med. Centre & Harvard Med. Sch., Boston, MA |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Cognition and Behavior - Human Cognition and Behavior -- Other higher functions |
| Session: |
18. Human Cognition and Behavior: Development I Slide |
| Presentation Time: | Saturday, November 8, 2003 1:00 PM-1:00 PM |
| Location: | Morial Convention Center - Room 391 |
| Keywords: | fMRI, Music, Children, Auditory Processing |
The brain basis of musical processing has been examined extensively in recent years, with differences and similarities found between musicians and non-musicians, musical stimuli and linguistic stimuli and various aspects of music perception and cognition. However, no imaging studies have been conducted to examine the neural correlates of musical processing in young children. Using functional MRI to do such research presents a challenge, as young children find it difficult to remain still, and can be intimidated by the scanner environment. We designed two musical tasks suitable for young children to perform in the MR scanner. 19 right-handed children aged 5 to 7 years (mean age 6;2) performed rhythm and pitch sequence discrimination tasks, interspersed with a silence condition. The rhythm and pitch sequence stimuli consisted of 2 short phrases (5 tones each), matched for spectral information, with a total length of 6.5 seconds. The children indicated whether these two phrases were the same or different by pressing one of two buttons in response to a short noise burst. In the silence condition, the children simply waited for the noise burst, and then performed a bilateral button press. Functional images were obtained on a 3T GE MR scanner using a variation of a sparse temporal sampling technique, with clustered volume acquisitions. Behaviorally, the children performed at a similar level outside and inside of the scanner (57% and 58% accuracy, respectively). Extensive activation was found in bilateral superior temporal gyrus when either of the musical conditions was compared to the silence condition. Interestingly, activation during the rhythm condition was found to be more lateralized to the left hemisphere (p<.05), while the pitch sequence condition did not show any particular lateralization (p=ns). This finding lends support to the theory that the left hemisphere may be specialized for temporal resolution in musical processing.
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2003 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. New Orleans, LA: Society for Neuroscience, 2003. Online.
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