The Impact of Musicianship on the Cortical Mechanisms Related to Separating Speech from Background Noise

Abstract

Musicians have enhanced auditory processing abilities. In some studies, these abilities are paralleled by an improved understanding of speech in noisy environments, partially due to more robust encoding of speech signals in noise at the level of the brainstem. Little is known about the impact of musicianship on attention-dependent cortical activity related to lexical access during a speech-in-noise task. To address this issue, we presented musicians and nonmusicians with single words mixed with three levels of background noise, across two conditions, while monitoring electrical brain activity. In the active condition, listeners repeated the words aloud, and in the passive condition, they ignored the words and watched a silent film. When background noise was most intense, musicians repeated more words correctly compared with nonmusicians. Auditory evoked responses were attenuated and delayed with the addition of background noise. In musicians, P1 amplitude was marginally enhanced during active listening and was related to task performance in the most difficult listening condition. By comparing ERPs from the active and passive conditions, we isolated an N400 related to lexical access. The amplitude of the N400 was not influenced by the level of background noise in musicians, whereas N400 amplitude increased with the level of background noise in nonmusicians. In nonmusicians, the increase in N400 amplitude was related to a reduction in task performance. In musicians only, there was a rightward shift of the sources contributing to the N400 as the level of background noise increased. This pattern of results supports the hypothesis that encoding of speech in noise is more robust in musicians and suggests that this facilitates lexical access. Moreover, the shift in sources suggests that musicians, to a greater extent than nonmusicians, may increasingly rely on acoustic cues to understand speech in noise.

Music training improves speech-in-noise perception: Longitudinal evidence from a community-based music program

“…We provide the first random-assignment, longitudinal evidence for improved hearing in noise with music training, validating the relationship between music training and speech-in-noise perceptual advantages and indicating that this "musician advantage" observed in previous cross-sectional studies [4,9,10,57,58] is not simply a reflection of pre-existing differences between those who pursue music and those who do not. Further, we reveal this improvement in the context of an established and successful music program providing free, group music instruction to underserved children.…”

“…Further, musicians demonstrate enhanced auditory cognitive function such as working memory [32][33][34] and attention [6,35,36], as well as enhanced neural representation of speech when presented in acoustically-compromised conditions [6,8,9,[37][38][39][40]. These findings are consistent with the theoretical framework proposed by Patel suggesting that music training promotes adaptive plasticity in speech-processing networks [41].…”

“…Understanding speech in noise not only presents an everyday communication challenge, it also provides an informative measure of auditory function under limiting conditions, since comprehension in noise requires the successful integration of cognitive, linguistic and sensory processing in response to novel incoming sounds. There is evidence that speech-in-noise perception can be improved with computer-based auditory training [1][2][3], and cross-sectional studies have indicated that auditory experts, specifically musicians, outperform age-matched peers in this task when matched for factors such as IQ and hearing thresholds [4][5][6][7][8][9][10], although recent studies attempting to replicate this advantage have reported mixed outcomes [11][12][13]. Further understanding of how this skill can be improved with training may provide important insights into the malleability of complex auditory processing, as well as informing educators and clinicians interested in the development of communication skills.…”

“…Fuller et al found that musicians outperformed non-musicians in one out of the eight masking conditions that were assessed, specifically the most challenging condition [13]. Zendel et al found that French-speaking musicians performed better on a words-in-noise task than non-musicians, again in the most difficult listening condition, and this performance advantage was associated with more resilient cortical responses in noise [9]. However, neither Ruggles et al (2014) nor Boebinger et al (2015) replicated a musician advantage under any of their masking conditions [11,12], although Ruggles and colleagues observed a significant correlation between years of musical practice and performance on the same clinical measures of speech-in-noise perception that were assessed in the original study (i.e.…”

The role of rhythm in perceiving speech in noise: a comparison of percussionists, vocalists and non-musicians

“…Expertise with rhythmic processing, such as developed through musical practice, could potentially confer benefits for processing the rhythm and timing cues in speech. Several cross-sectional comparisons of musicians and non-musicians have revealed a musician advantage for perceiving speech in noise (Parbery-Clark et al 2009, 2011; Swaminathan et al 2015; Zendel and Alain 2012; Zendel et al 2015) when groups are matched for key factors such as age, sex and IQ. Further, recent research from our laboratory and others has revealed links between rhythm abilities and various language skills, including reading (Gordon et al 2015; Huss et al 2011; Strait et al 2011; Thomson and Goswami 2008; Tierney and Kraus 2013; Woodruff Carr et al 2014), suggesting that rhythm may play a role in the transfer from music to language processing (see also Shahin 2011).…”