Quantity language speakers show enhanced subcortical processing

Abstract

The complex auditory brainstem response (cABR) can reflect language-based plasticity in subcortical stages of auditory processing. It is sensitive to differences between language groups as well as stimulus properties, e.g. intensity or frequency. It is also sensitive to the synchronicity of the neural population stimulated by sound, which results in increased amplitude of wave V. Finnish is a full-fledged quantity language, in which word meaning is dependent upon duration of the vowels and consonants. Previous studies have shown that Finnish speakers have enhanced behavioural sound duration discrimination ability and larger cortical mismatch negativity (MMN) to duration change compared to German and French speakers. The next step is to find out whether these enhanced duration discrimination abilities of quantity language speakers originate at the brainstem level. Since German has a complementary quantity contrast which restricts the possible patterns of short and long vowels and consonants, the current experiment compared cABR between nonmusician Finnish and German native speakers using seven short complex stimuli. Finnish speakers had a larger cABR peak amplitude than German speakers, while the peak onset latency was only affected by stimulus intensity and spectral band. The results suggest that early cABR responses are better synchronised for Finns, which could underpin the enhanced duration sensitivity of quantity language speakers.

Behavioral and subcortical signatures of musical expertise in Mandarin Chinese speakers

“…It has been shown to reflect subcortical experience-based plasticity from auditory training and is affected by learning and language disorders [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. It has previously been shown that wave V amplitude reflects enhanced duration processing at a subcortical level associated with quantity language experience [ 28 ], so the current study was interested in possible duration processing enhancement at the subcortical level due to musical expertise.…”

“…Language effects have been shown not only with tone languages but also quantity languages, like Finnish, which encode lexical duration. Previous studies have shown that native speakers exhibit enhanced perceptual, cortical, and duration processing at subcortical level [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. The interaction of these effects with musical training, however, is more complex, and the effects of musical expertise within linguistic groups are unclear.…”

Musical Sophistication and the Effect of Complexity on Auditory Discrimination in Finnish Speakers

“…The main hypothesis for the brainstem data was motivated by recent research showing a group difference between Finnish speakers and German speakers in amplitude of the brainstem response, indicating an enhanced temporal synchrony (Dawson et al, 2016). In the previous work, simple duration discrimination data was unavailable, and comparisons were made between language groups, so it was not possible to test individual duration discrimination thresholds.…”

“…Mandarin speakers, whose language has lexical tones, show more precise pitch representation in the brainstem and enhanced pitch contour detection in the auditory cortex (Xu et al, 2006; Chandrasekaran et al, 2009; Bidelman et al, 2011). Likewise, Finnish speakers, whose language has a durational (quantity) contrast between long and short in both vowels and consonants, show enhanced duration processing in the form of a smaller just noticeable difference (JND) for duration but not frequency (Tervaniemi et al, 2006), larger mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitude for duration in native speakers of Finnish compared to German speakers or Finnish second-language users (Nenonen et al, 2003; Tervaniemi et al, 2006), and more synchronized brainstem responses when compared to German speakers (Dawson et al, 2016). …”

Improved Auditory Function Caused by Music Versus Foreign Language Training at School Age: Is There a Difference?

“…Further, linguistic backgrounds in tonal and quantity languages had differential effects on perceptual auditory encoding in musicians. 1 The encoding was the most accurate in relation to the acoustic feature, which is most crucial in the native language of the participants ( Dawson et al. 2016 , 2018 ).…”