Genomics approaches to study musical aptitude

Abstract

Although music and other forms of art can develop in diverse directions, they are linked to the genetic profiles of populations. Hearing music is a strong environmental trigger that serves as an excellent model to study the crosstalk between genes and the environment. We propose that the ability to enjoy and practice music requires musical aptitude, which is a common and innate trait facilitating the enjoyment and practice of music. The innate drive for music can only have arisen by exposure to music, and it develops with motivation and training in musically rich environments. Recent genomic approaches have shown that the genes responsible for inner ear development, auditory pathways and neurocognitive processes may underlay musical aptitude. It is expected that genomic approaches can be applied to musical traits and will reveal new biological mechanisms that affect human evolution, brain function, and civilisation.

Music genetics research: Association with musicality of a polymorphism in the AVPR1A gene

“…Genome-wide linkage and association analyses have pointed several genetic variants which could be segregating with musical aptitude. In particular, a region on chromosome 4q22-23 was identified in two independent linkage-mapping studies in Finnish and Mongolian populations (Pulli et al , 2008; Park et al , 2012; Oikkonen and Jarvela, 2014). Most recently, genome-wide linkage and association scan identified multiple loci containing genes affecting auditory and cognitive functions (Park et al , 2012; Gingras et al , 2015; Oikkonen et al , 2015).…”

Music training and speech perception: a gene–environment interaction

“…Over the past few years new tests of aptitude have emerged, with improved psychometric properties . Meanwhile, behavioral geneticists became interested in musical ability and the relative roles of genes and the environment in predicting aptitude and music achievement . As it turns out, the role of practice in determining musical achievement has been overestimated, and aptitude and achievement have a substantial genetic component .…”

Genomics Approaches for Studying Musical Aptitude and Related Traits

“…This is related to understanding tones with time that evokes anticipatory responses because of the cognitive expectations and prediction cues involved in listening to music (Salimpoor et al, 2015). In fact, combined music test scores (KMT; SP, ST) were normally distributed among participants with no specific music education (Oikkonen and Järvelä 2014) suggesting that the ability to detect pitch, time and sound patterns is common in populations with no music training. Abilities that animals exhibit without the need for training are referred to innate traits.…”