Professional Music Training and Novel Word Learning: From Faster Semantic Encoding to Longer-lasting Word Representations

Abstract

On the basis of previous results showing that music training positively influences different aspects of speech perception and cognition, the aim of this series of experiments was to test the hypothesis that adult professional musicians would learn the meaning of novel words through picture-word associations more efficiently than controls without music training (i.e., fewer errors and faster RTs). We also expected musicians to show faster changes in brain electrical activity than controls, in particular regarding the N400 component that develops with word learning. In line with these hypotheses, musicians outperformed controls in the most difficult semantic task. Moreover, although a frontally distributed N400 component developed in both groups of participants after only a few minutes of novel word learning, in musicians this frontal distribution rapidly shifted to parietal scalp sites, as typically found for the N400 elicited by known words. Finally, musicians showed evidence for better long-term memory for novel words 5 months after the main experimental session. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects from enhanced perception to memory as well as in terms of multifaceted improvements of cognitive processing due to music training. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that music training influences semantic aspects of language processing in adults. These results open new perspectives for education in showing that early music training can facilitate later foreign language learning. Moreover, the design used in the present experiment can help to specify the stages of word learning that are impaired in children and adults with word learning difficulties. positively influences different aspects of speech perception and cognition, the aim of this series of experiments was to test the hypothesis that adult professional musicians would learn the meaning of novel words through picture-word associations more efficiently than controls without music training (i.e., fewer errors and faster RTs). We also expected musicians to show faster changes in brain electrical activity than controls, in particular regarding the N400 component that develops with word learning. In line with these hypotheses, musicians outperformed controls in the most difficult semantic task. Moreover, although a frontally distributed N400 component developed in both groups of participants after only a few minutes of novel word learning, in musicians this frontal distribution rapidly shifted to parietal scalp sites, as typically found for the N400 elicited by known words. Finally, musicians showed evidence for better long-term memory for novel words 5 months after the main experimental session. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects from enhanced perception to memory as well as in terms of multifaceted improvements of cognitive processing due to music training. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that music training influences semantic aspects of language processing in adults. These results o...

Fast Brain Plasticity during Word Learning in Musically-Trained Children

“…However, independently of music training, the N100 amplitude was largest to the unfamiliar, non-native aspiration contrast (see Figure 3). This result differs from previous ones in adults showing larger N100s to the aspiration contrast only in professional musicians (Dittinger et al, 2016). It may be that the differential sensitivity to familiar and unfamiliar phonetic contrasts decreases from childhood to adulthood and that music training helps to maintain this sensitivity.…”

“…Our results showed that all children were able to learn the meaning of novel words and that, similar to previous results found in adults (Batterink and Neville, 2011; Dittinger et al, 2016) word learning was associated with a fronto-parietal shift of the topographical distribution of the N400 and N200 components that developed with learning. Importantly, a few years of music training (4.5 years on average) was found to positively correlate with word learning: musically-trained children performed higher than controls in both the matching and the semantic tasks and the electrophysiological markers of word leaning (the N200 and N400 effects) were larger in children with than without music training.…”

“…First, even with a small sample size, the effects of main interest were significant (and therefore statistically valid, Friston, 2012) in musically-trained children and not significant in control children, thereby showing clear between-group differences. Second, as discussed above, the main effects found for children in the different experiments described here are remarkably similar to those previously found using a very similar paradigm with musician and non-musician adults (Dittinger et al, 2016). Thus, the correlation between music training and better novel word learning (both in behavior and ERPs) was replicated in two independent samples of participants.…”

“…Again, these results are very similar to previous results in adults (Dittinger et al, 2016) showing significant N200 and N400 semantic priming effects over parietal regions in adult musicians but not in non-musicians. Only the N200 effect was significant in adult non-musicians, again pointing to the independance of these two components (Du et al, 2014).…”

Fast Brain Plasticity during Word Learning in Musically-Trained Children

“…However, independently of music training, the N100 amplitude was largest to the unfamiliar, non-native aspiration contrast (see Figure 3). This result differs from previous ones in adults showing larger N100s to the aspiration contrast only in professional musicians (Dittinger et al, 2016). It may be that the differential sensitivity to familiar and unfamiliar phonetic contrasts decreases from childhood to adulthood and that music training helps to maintain this sensitivity.…”

“…Our results showed that all children were able to learn the meaning of novel words and that, similar to previous results found in adults (Batterink and Neville, 2011; Dittinger et al, 2016) word learning was associated with a fronto-parietal shift of the topographical distribution of the N400 and N200 components that developed with learning. Importantly, a few years of music training (4.5 years on average) was found to positively correlate with word learning: musically-trained children performed higher than controls in both the matching and the semantic tasks and the electrophysiological markers of word leaning (the N200 and N400 effects) were larger in children with than without music training.…”

“…First, even with a small sample size, the effects of main interest were significant (and therefore statistically valid, Friston, 2012) in musically-trained children and not significant in control children, thereby showing clear between-group differences. Second, as discussed above, the main effects found for children in the different experiments described here are remarkably similar to those previously found using a very similar paradigm with musician and non-musician adults (Dittinger et al, 2016). Thus, the correlation between music training and better novel word learning (both in behavior and ERPs) was replicated in two independent samples of participants.…”

“…Again, these results are very similar to previous results in adults (Dittinger et al, 2016) showing significant N200 and N400 semantic priming effects over parietal regions in adult musicians but not in non-musicians. Only the N200 effect was significant in adult non-musicians, again pointing to the independance of these two components (Du et al, 2014).…”

Auditory associative word learning in adults: the effects of musical experience and stimulus ordering

“…This suggestion is supported by experiments in which two auditory elements were sequentially linked, and in which similar positivities were found (e.g., Friederici et al, 2011; Mandikal Vasuki et al, 2017). Thus, the present results are consistent with previous findings in musicians evidencing enhanced auditory processing and memory (Chan et al, 1998; Cohen et al, 2011; George & Coch, 2011; Ho et al, 2003; Paraskevopoulos et al, 2017), and the transfer of musical expertise to language processing (Dittinger et al, 2016, 2017, 2019; Pesnot Lerousseau & Schön, 2021; Schön & Francois, 2011).…”

Fast Brain Plasticity during Word Learning in Musically-Trained Children

“…However, independently of music training, the N100 amplitude was largest to the unfamiliar, non-native aspiration contrast (see Figure 3). This result differs from previous ones in adults showing larger N100s to the aspiration contrast only in professional musicians (Dittinger et al, 2016). It may be that the differential sensitivity to familiar and unfamiliar phonetic contrasts decreases from childhood to adulthood and that music training helps to maintain this sensitivity.…”

“…Our results showed that all children were able to learn the meaning of novel words and that, similar to previous results found in adults (Batterink and Neville, 2011; Dittinger et al, 2016) word learning was associated with a fronto-parietal shift of the topographical distribution of the N400 and N200 components that developed with learning. Importantly, a few years of music training (4.5 years on average) was found to positively correlate with word learning: musically-trained children performed higher than controls in both the matching and the semantic tasks and the electrophysiological markers of word leaning (the N200 and N400 effects) were larger in children with than without music training.…”

“…First, even with a small sample size, the effects of main interest were significant (and therefore statistically valid, Friston, 2012) in musically-trained children and not significant in control children, thereby showing clear between-group differences. Second, as discussed above, the main effects found for children in the different experiments described here are remarkably similar to those previously found using a very similar paradigm with musician and non-musician adults (Dittinger et al, 2016). Thus, the correlation between music training and better novel word learning (both in behavior and ERPs) was replicated in two independent samples of participants.…”

“…Again, these results are very similar to previous results in adults (Dittinger et al, 2016) showing significant N200 and N400 semantic priming effects over parietal regions in adult musicians but not in non-musicians. Only the N200 effect was significant in adult non-musicians, again pointing to the independance of these two components (Du et al, 2014).…”

Auditory associative word learning in adults: the effects of musical experience and stimulus ordering

“…This suggestion is supported by experiments in which two auditory elements were sequentially linked, and in which similar positivities were found (e.g., Friederici et al, 2011; Mandikal Vasuki et al, 2017). Thus, the present results are consistent with previous findings in musicians evidencing enhanced auditory processing and memory (Chan et al, 1998; Cohen et al, 2011; George & Coch, 2011; Ho et al, 2003; Paraskevopoulos et al, 2017), and the transfer of musical expertise to language processing (Dittinger et al, 2016, 2017, 2019; Pesnot Lerousseau & Schön, 2021; Schön & Francois, 2011).…”

Fast Brain Plasticity during Word Learning in Musically-Trained Children

“…However, independently of music training, the N100 amplitude was largest to the unfamiliar, non-native aspiration contrast (see Figure 3). This result differs from previous ones in adults showing larger N100s to the aspiration contrast only in professional musicians (Dittinger et al, 2016). It may be that the differential sensitivity to familiar and unfamiliar phonetic contrasts decreases from childhood to adulthood and that music training helps to maintain this sensitivity.…”

“…Our results showed that all children were able to learn the meaning of novel words and that, similar to previous results found in adults (Batterink and Neville, 2011; Dittinger et al, 2016) word learning was associated with a fronto-parietal shift of the topographical distribution of the N400 and N200 components that developed with learning. Importantly, a few years of music training (4.5 years on average) was found to positively correlate with word learning: musically-trained children performed higher than controls in both the matching and the semantic tasks and the electrophysiological markers of word leaning (the N200 and N400 effects) were larger in children with than without music training.…”

“…First, even with a small sample size, the effects of main interest were significant (and therefore statistically valid, Friston, 2012) in musically-trained children and not significant in control children, thereby showing clear between-group differences. Second, as discussed above, the main effects found for children in the different experiments described here are remarkably similar to those previously found using a very similar paradigm with musician and non-musician adults (Dittinger et al, 2016). Thus, the correlation between music training and better novel word learning (both in behavior and ERPs) was replicated in two independent samples of participants.…”

“…Again, these results are very similar to previous results in adults (Dittinger et al, 2016) showing significant N200 and N400 semantic priming effects over parietal regions in adult musicians but not in non-musicians. Only the N200 effect was significant in adult non-musicians, again pointing to the independance of these two components (Du et al, 2014).…”

Auditory associative word learning in adults: the effects of musical experience and stimulus ordering

“…This suggestion is supported by experiments in which two auditory elements were sequentially linked, and in which similar positivities were found (e.g., Friederici et al, 2011; Mandikal Vasuki et al, 2017). Thus, the present results are consistent with previous findings in musicians evidencing enhanced auditory processing and memory (Chan et al, 1998; Cohen et al, 2011; George & Coch, 2011; Ho et al, 2003; Paraskevopoulos et al, 2017), and the transfer of musical expertise to language processing (Dittinger et al, 2016, 2017, 2019; Pesnot Lerousseau & Schön, 2021; Schön & Francois, 2011).…”