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1Pitch is a primary perceptual dimension of sounds and is crucial in music and speech perception. When listening 2 to melodies, most humans encode the relations between pitches into memory using an ability called relative pitch 3 (RP). A small subpopulation, almost exclusively musicians, preferentially encode pitches using absolute pitch 4 (AP): the ability to identify the pitch of a sound without an external reference. In this study, we recruited a large 5 sample of musicians with AP (AP musicians) and without AP (RP musicians). The participants performed a pitch-6 processing task with a Listening and a Labeling condition during functional magnetic resonance imaging. General 7 linear model analysis revealed that while labeling tones, AP musicians showed lower blood oxygenation level 8 dependent (BOLD) signal in the inferior frontal gyrus and the presupplementary motor area -brain regions 9 associated with working memory, language functions, and auditory imagery. At the same time, AP musicians 10 labeled tones more accurately suggesting that AP might be an example of neural efficiency. In addition, using 11 multivariate pattern analysis, we found that BOLD signal patterns in the inferior frontal gyrus and the 12 presupplementary motor area differentiated between the groups. These clusters were similar, but not identical 13 compared to the general linear model-based clusters. Therefore, information about AP and RP might be present 14 on different spatial scales. While listening to tones, AP musicians showed increased BOLD signal in the right 15 planum temporale which may reflect the matching of pitch information with internal templates and corroborates 16 the importance of the planum temporale in AP processing.

The influence of background music on cognitive functions is still a matter of debate. In this study, we investigated the influence of background music on executive functions (particularly on inhibitory functions). Participants completed a standardized cued Go/NoGo task during three different conditions while an EEG was recorded (1: with no background music, 2: with relaxing, or 3: with exciting background music). In addition, we collected reaction times, omissions, and commissions in response to the Go and NoGo stimuli. From the EEG data, event-related potentials (ERPs) were calculated for the Go and NoGo trials. From these ERPs, the N2 and P3 components were specifically analyzed since previous studies have shown that these components (and particularly the Go-NoGo difference waves) are strongly associated with inhibitory functions. The N2 and P3 components of the difference waves (N2d and P3d) were used for statistical analyses. The statistical analyses revealed no differences between the three conditions in terms of amplitudes and latencies of the N2d and P3d components. In addition, reaction times, omissions, and commissions were comparable across all conditions. Our results suggest that in the context of this paradigm, music as background acoustic stimulation has no detrimental effects on the performance of a Go/NoGo task and neural underpinnings.

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