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Brain Sci., Volume 4, Issue 4 (December 2014) – 6 articles , Pages 509-634

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427 KiB  
Review
A Mechanistic Approach to Cross-Domain Perceptual Narrowing in the First Year of Life
by Hillary Hadley, Gwyneth C. Rost, Eswen Fava and Lisa S. Scott
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 613-634; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040613 - 16 Dec 2014
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7880
Abstract
Language and face processing develop in similar ways during the first year of life. Early in the first year of life, infants demonstrate broad abilities for discriminating among faces and speech. These discrimination abilities then become tuned to frequently experienced groups of people [...] Read more.
Language and face processing develop in similar ways during the first year of life. Early in the first year of life, infants demonstrate broad abilities for discriminating among faces and speech. These discrimination abilities then become tuned to frequently experienced groups of people or languages. This process of perceptual development occurs between approximately 6 and 12 months of age and is largely shaped by experience. However, the mechanisms underlying perceptual development during this time, and whether they are shared across domains, remain largely unknown. Here, we highlight research findings across domains and propose a top-down/bottom-up processing approach as a guide for future research. It is hypothesized that perceptual narrowing and tuning in development is the result of a shift from primarily bottom-up processing to a combination of bottom-up and top-down influences. In addition, we propose word learning as an important top-down factor that shapes tuning in both the speech and face domains, leading to similar observed developmental trajectories across modalities. Importantly, we suggest that perceptual narrowing/tuning is the result of multiple interacting factors and not explained by the development of a single mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition in Infants)
670 KiB  
Article
Neural Correlates of Amusia in Williams Syndrome
by Miriam D. Lense, Nathan Dankner, Jennifer R. Pryweller, Tricia A. Thornton-Wells and Elisabeth M. Dykens
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 594-612; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040594 - 21 Nov 2014
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 7797
Abstract
Congenital amusia is defined by marked deficits in pitch perception and production. Though historically examined only in otherwise typically developing (TD) populations, amusia has recently been documented in Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic, neurodevelopmental disorder with a unique auditory phenotype including auditory sensitivities [...] Read more.
Congenital amusia is defined by marked deficits in pitch perception and production. Though historically examined only in otherwise typically developing (TD) populations, amusia has recently been documented in Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic, neurodevelopmental disorder with a unique auditory phenotype including auditory sensitivities and increased emotional responsiveness to music but variable musical skill. The current study used structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to examine neural correlates of amusia in 17 individuals with WS (4 of whom met criteria for amusia). Consistent with findings from TD amusics, amusia in WS was associated with decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). The relationship between amusia and FA in the inferior component of the SLF was particularly robust, withstanding corrections for cognitive functioning, auditory sensitivities, or musical training. Though the number of individuals with amusia in the study is small, results add to evidence for the role of fronto-temporal disconnectivity in congenital amusia and suggest that novel populations with developmental differences can provide a window into understanding gene-brain-behavior relationships that underlie musical behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Music and Neural Plasticity)
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833 KiB  
Commentary
Auditory Reserve and the Legacy of Auditory Experience
by Erika Skoe and Nina Kraus
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 575-593; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040575 - 14 Nov 2014
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 7398
Abstract
Musical training during childhood has been linked to more robust encoding of sound later in life. We take this as evidence for an auditory reserve: a mechanism by which individuals capitalize on earlier life experiences to promote auditory processing. We assert that early [...] Read more.
Musical training during childhood has been linked to more robust encoding of sound later in life. We take this as evidence for an auditory reserve: a mechanism by which individuals capitalize on earlier life experiences to promote auditory processing. We assert that early auditory experiences guide how the reserve develops and is maintained over the lifetime. Experiences that occur after childhood, or which are limited in nature, are theorized to affect the reserve, although their influence on sensory processing may be less long-lasting and may potentially fade over time if not repeated. This auditory reserve may help to explain individual differences in how individuals cope with auditory impoverishment or loss of sensorineural function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Music and Neural Plasticity)
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725 KiB  
Review
Compensatory Plasticity in the Deaf Brain: Effects on Perception of Music
by Arla Good, Maureen J. Reed and Frank A. Russo
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 560-574; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040560 - 28 Oct 2014
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 22922
Abstract
When one sense is unavailable, sensory responsibilities shift and processing of the remaining modalities becomes enhanced to compensate for missing information. This shift, referred to as compensatory plasticity, results in a unique sensory experience for individuals who are deaf, including the manner in [...] Read more.
When one sense is unavailable, sensory responsibilities shift and processing of the remaining modalities becomes enhanced to compensate for missing information. This shift, referred to as compensatory plasticity, results in a unique sensory experience for individuals who are deaf, including the manner in which music is perceived. This paper evaluates the neural, behavioural and cognitive evidence for compensatory plasticity following auditory deprivation and considers how this manifests in a unique experience of music that emphasizes visual and vibrotactile modalities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Music and Neural Plasticity)
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944 KiB  
Article
Early Word Recognition and Later Language Skills
by Caroline Junge and Anne Cutler
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 532-559; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040532 - 24 Oct 2014
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8804
Abstract
Recent behavioral and electrophysiological evidence has highlighted the long-term importance for language skills of an early ability to recognize words in continuous speech. We here present further tests of this long-term link in the form of follow-up studies conducted with two (separate) groups [...] Read more.
Recent behavioral and electrophysiological evidence has highlighted the long-term importance for language skills of an early ability to recognize words in continuous speech. We here present further tests of this long-term link in the form of follow-up studies conducted with two (separate) groups of infants who had earlier participated in speech segmentation tasks. Each study extends prior follow-up tests: Study 1 by using a novel follow-up measure that taps into online processing, Study 2 by assessing language performance relationships over a longer time span than previously tested. Results of Study 1 show that brain correlates of speech segmentation ability at 10 months are positively related to 16-month-olds’ target fixations in a looking-while-listening task. Results of Study 2 show that infant speech segmentation ability no longer directly predicts language profiles at the age of five. However, a meta-analysis across our results and those of similar studies (Study 3) reveals that age at follow-up does not moderate effect size. Together, the results suggest that infants’ ability to recognize words in speech certainly benefits early vocabulary development; further observed relationships of later language skills to early word recognition may be consequent upon this vocabulary size effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition in Infants)
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1984 KiB  
Article
ERP Indices of Stimulus Prediction in Letter Sequences
by Edith Kaan and Evan Carlisle
Brain Sci. 2014, 4(4), 509-531; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci4040509 - 23 Oct 2014
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5923
Abstract
Given the current focus on anticipation in perception, action and cognition, including language processing, there is a need for a method to tap into predictive processing in situations in which cue and feedback stimuli are not explicitly marked as such. To this aim, [...] Read more.
Given the current focus on anticipation in perception, action and cognition, including language processing, there is a need for a method to tap into predictive processing in situations in which cue and feedback stimuli are not explicitly marked as such. To this aim, event related potentials (ERPs) were obtained while participants viewed alphabetic letter sequences (“A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, …), in which the letters were highly predictable, and random sequences (“S”, “B”, “A”, “I”, “F”, “M”, …), without feedback. Occasionally, the presentation of a letter in a sequence was delayed by 300 ms. During this delay period, an increased negativity was observed for predictive versus random sequences. In addition, the early positivity following the delay was larger for predictive compared with random sequences. These results suggest that expectation-sensitive ERP modulations can be elicited in anticipation of stimuli that are not explicit targets, rewards, feedback or instructions, and that a delay can strengthen the prediction for a particular stimulus. Applications to language processing will be discussed. Full article
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