Long-term implicit memory for sequential auditory patterns in humans

Abstract

To understand auditory scenes, listeners track and retain the statistics of sensory inputs as they unfold over time. We combined behavioural manipulation and modelling to investigate how sequence statistics are encoded into long-term memory and used to interpret incoming sensory signals. In a series of experiments, participants detected the emergence of regularly repeating patterns in novel rapid sound sequences. Unbeknownst to them, a few regular patterns reoccurred sparsely (every ~3 minutes). Reoccurring sequences showed a rapidly growing detection time advantage over novel sequences. This effect was implicit, robust to interference, and persisted up to 7 weeks. Human performance was reproduced by a memory-constrained probabilistic model, where sequences are stored as n-grams and are subject to memory decay. Results suggest that similar psychological mechanisms may underlie integration processes over different-time scales in memory formation and flexible retrieval.

Cortical activity during naturalistic music listening reflects short-range predictions based on long-term experience

“…The human auditory system exhibits a remarkable sensitivity to detect and learn statistical regularities in sound (Saffran et al, 1999; Skerritt-Davis & Elhilali, 2018). This capacity has been corroborated in statistical learning paradigms using behavioural (Barascud et al, 2016; Bianco et al, 2020), eye-tracking (Milne et al, 2021; Zhao et al, 2019), and neuroimaging techniques (Barascud et al, 2016; Moldwin et al, 2017; Pesnot Lerousseau & Schön, 2021). Furthermore, humans have extraordinary implicit memory for auditory patterns (Agres et al, 2018; Bianco et al, 2020).…”

“…This capacity has been corroborated in statistical learning paradigms using behavioural (Barascud et al, 2016; Bianco et al, 2020), eye-tracking (Milne et al, 2021; Zhao et al, 2019), and neuroimaging techniques (Barascud et al, 2016; Moldwin et al, 2017; Pesnot Lerousseau & Schön, 2021). Furthermore, humans have extraordinary implicit memory for auditory patterns (Agres et al, 2018; Bianco et al, 2020). It has therefore been proposed that listeners learn the statistical regularities embedded in music through mere exposure (Pearce, 2018; Rohrmeier et al, 2011; Rohrmeier & Rebuschat, 2012).…”

Auditory perceptual learning depends on temporal regularity and certainty

“…We found this perceptual benefit for recurring over unique patterns in each of our five experiments, demonstrating its robustness. A perceptual benefit of recurring over unique patterns has also been observed in studies using a different, but related frozen-noise paradigm (Trevor Trevor R. Agus & Pressnitzer, 2013;Trevor R. Agus, et al, 2010) and sequences of tones containing auditory patterns (Bianco, et al, 2020;Herrmann, et al, 2021; but note the absence of this effect in Hodapp & Grimm, 2021). We interpret this recurrence benefit as evidence of auditory perceptual learning: improved performance for recurring patterns arises from memory formation that makes recurring patterns easier to detect than unique patterns (Trevor R Trevor R. Agus & Pressnitzer, 2013;Trevor R. Agus, et al, 2010;Andrillon, et al, 2015;Andrillon, et al, 2017;Luo, et al, 2013).…”

“…Lastly, (3) stimuli that are more difficult to memorize (i.e., contain more information) should be better tests of a learning mechanism because they make more processing demands (Overath et al, 2007). Various stimuli have been used to demonstrate auditory perceptual learning, including clicks (Kang, Agus, & Pressnitzer, 2017), tone bursts (Goossens, van de Par, & Kohlrausch, 2008;Hawkey, Amitay, & Moore, 2004), tones sequences (Bianco et al, 2020;Herrmann, Araz, & Johnsrude, 2021;Kumar et al, 2014), and noise bursts (Viswanathan, Rémy, Bacon-Macé, & Thorpe, 2016). One branch of auditory perceptual learning research has taken advantage of acoustic noise as stimuli to address the concerns raised by Agus and colleagues (Trevor R Agus, Carrión-Castillo, Pressnitzer, & Ramus, 2013; Trevor R. ; Trevor R. Agus, et al, 2010;Andrillon, Kouider, Agus, & Pressnitzer, 2015;Andrillon, Pressnitzer, Léger, & Kouider, 2017).…”

“…Above-chance detection performance associated with unique patterns indicates that individuals are sensitive to a repeating noise snippet within a sound. The detection benefit for recurring over unique patterns ("recurrence benefit") has been attributed to auditory perceptual learning; the effect is hypothesized to result from the formation of a memory trace lasting at least a few seconds (Trevor R. Agus, et al, 2010; memory traces have also been shown to persist for weeks, see Bianco, et al, 2020).…”