From the study of "tone" and "music" to the separation of "language" and "tone", how does music training experience reshape our speech behavior and the function and structure of the brain?

Every sound is born from the heart of the person.

The movement of the human heart is made by the object.

Move by feeling, let go by sound.

The sound responds, and it changes into a square, which is called the voice.

Comparing music to music, and Qi Yumao, it is called music.

——"Ritual Music.
Music Records"①Music and language are unique to humans②, carrying the symbol system of human happiness, anger, sorrow and joy.

Both rely on changing and orderly sound signals to form music or speech to achieve information exchange.

The perception and output of music and speech depend on the coordinated movement of the human’s complete auditory system, vocal organs, and corresponding muscle groups in the motor system.

In addition, listening or playing music, listening or expressing speech requires cognitive functions such as memory and selective attention to help us better appreciate music and understand others.

The similarity between the two in acoustics, perception and cognition makes the perception and output of music and speech share some basic neural circuits and processing mechanisms.

Research evidence shows that music training experience can shape brain structure and function, and affect human speech skills.

But researchers are far from fully understanding the "transfer effect" and its neural mechanisms from music skills to speech skills.

Two recent studies conducted by Du Yi's research group at the Key Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academy of Behavioral Sciences provide some insights for answering how music training experience affects speech perception processing and the corresponding brain function and structure.

Research-Declined speech perception and comprehension is one of the chronic health problems commonly encountered by the elderly.

The "inaudibility" of the elderly stems from many aspects, including peripheral hearing loss (mainly manifested as high-frequency loss), the central auditory system's ability to encode sounds, and auditory cognitive decline, such as auditory working memory and selectivity Pay attention and wait.

Although a large number of studies have found that music training experience can enhance young people's auditory processing, auditory cognition, and speech perception in noisy environments.

However, no research has directly investigated whether different music training experiences can delay the decline of speech perception ability in the elderly under the background of noise, and its relationship with auditory cognitive ability.

A recent behavioral experiment conducted by Du Yi’s research group confirmed that whether it’s singing or playing the piano, music training experience can effectively delay the decline of the elderly’s speech perception ability under the background of noise, and that auditory working memory plays a role in the process of musical experience fighting aging.
Played an important intermediary role.

The study recruited 29 older non-musicians, 48 ​​older musicians (24 instrumentalists and 24 vocalists), 24 young non-musicians, and 48 young musicians (16 string musicians, 16 piano Home, 16 percussionists) conducted a speech recognition test under noise.

Older musicians start to learn music before the age of 20, have more than 20 years of music training experience, and continue to practice for the past three years (>1 hour per week); young musicians start to learn music before the age of 8, with More than 10 years of continuous music training experience.

All subjects have normal peripheral hearing, and each group of elderly and each group of young people balances demographic variables (gender, age, education level), general cognitive ability and executive control ability.

The results of the study found that the music training experience did not improve the speech perception ability of young people under noise at the sentence level, but in the elderly group, the speech perception ability of older musicians under noise was significantly better than that of older non-musicians , And is not inferior to young people in most conditions (Figure 1).

Interestingly, although the total training time of the elderly vocalist group was significantly shorter than that of the elderly instrumentalist group in the past ten years, there was no significant difference in the speech recognition performance of the two groups under noise (Figure 2), suggesting that vocal training is effective.
For the elderly, it may produce more effective speech processing "migration effects.
"
Not only that, the auditory working memory ability (such as correctly repeating a series of numbers after listening) also shows a similar pattern.
The auditory working memory of older musicians is better than that of older non-musicians, and only slightly worse than that of younger musicians.

The path analysis results show that auditory working memory plays a significant mediating role in the aging decline of speech perception under noise and the promotion of music training experience (Figure 3).

That is to say, the decline of the speech perception ability of the elderly under noise is related to the decline of the auditory working memory capacity, and the music training experience can maintain the auditory working memory capacity of the elderly to combat their speech perception ability under unfavorable listening conditions.
decline.

Figure 1.
The speech recognition performance of the elderly non-musicians, the elderly musicians, the young non-musicians and the young musicians under the conditions of various masking types and the spatial relationship of the speech noise (A) the separation of spectral noise and speech noise; (B) ) Speech noise and speech noise overlap; (C) Speech noise and speech noise separation; (D) Speech noise and speech noise overlap.

* p <0.
05, ** p <0.
01, *** p <0.
001 Figure 2.
The speech recognition performance of elderly non-musicians, elderly instrumentalists, and elderly vocalists under various masking types and the spatial relationship of speech noise ( A) Spectral noise and speech noise separation; (B) Spectral noise and speech noise overlap; (C) Speech noise and speech noise separation; (D) Speech noise and speech noise overlap.

* p <0.
05, ** p <0.
01, *** p <0.
001 Figure 3.
Path analysis model results.

Dotted lines indicate insignificant paths, and solid lines indicate significant paths.

* p <0.
05, ** p <0.
01, *** p <0.
001 This study reveals the cognitive mechanism of music training experience delaying and resisting the aging of speech perception ability, and is designed and carried out for the design and development of music training programs to intervene and improve the speech of the elderly Processing capabilities provide a theoretical basis.

Related papers have been published in Ear and Hearing.

The first author of the paper is Zhang Lei, a doctoral student at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and researcher Du Yi is the corresponding author.

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31671172, 31822024) and the Strategic Leading Science and Technology Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB32010300).

Paper information: Zhang, L.
, Fu, X.
, Luo, D.
, Xing, L.
, & Du, Y.
(2020).
Musical Experience Offsets Age-Related Decline in Understanding Speech-in-Noise: Type of Training Does Not Matter, Working Memory Is the Key.
Ear and Hearing, 42(2), 258–270.
DOI: 10.
1097/AUD.
0000000000000921 The second study of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) connecting the frontal-parietal-temporal lobe is considered It is the core white matter fiber bundle related to the integration of the dorsal pathway and auditory movement in the dual-pathway model of language processing brain.

Previous studies have shown that music training experience can strengthen the auditory coding of speech stimulation, motor coding, and the information integration between the auditory-motor system to improve people's speech perception in the context of noise (Du & Zatorre, 2017).

However, it is still unknown whether the experience of music training can affect the speech perception ability in the background of noise by triggering the structural changes of the white matter fibers (the arcuate tract) of the auditory-motor nerve circuit.

Du Yi's research group used magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging technology to reveal music from three aspects: the connectivity of arcuate tract fibers, hemispheric lateralization, and long-term white matter microstructure changes, immediate hemodynamic changes and behavioral performance.
The plasticity adjustment of the training experience to the bow-shaped beam and its contribution mechanism to speech perception in the background of noise.

Specifically, the music training experience enhanced the connectivity between the right arcuate beam direct pathway (dAF) and the anterior branch (aAF) of the left arcuate beam indirect pathway, and strengthened the left side of the indirect pathway arcuate beam posterior branch (pAF) These changes are related to the enhancement of musicians’ speech perception ability under noise.

In addition, the study confirmed for the first time the causal relationship between the changes in brain structure, function, and behavior of this cross-domain "transfer effect": the structural changes of the right arcuate beam direct pathway accompanied by music training experience are through the right auditory cortex.
The intensity of neural activity in the task state is used as an intermediary variable to regulate the speech perception ability under noise.

The study recruited 15 young musicians (starting age of training ≤ 7 years, total training time> 10 years, training time> 3 hours per week) and 15 young non-musicians, demographic variables of the two groups of subjects ( Gender, age, education level), basic auditory ability and cognitive ability (auditory working memory span and non-verbal IQ) were matched.

Participants completed the task of syllable discrimination under different noise intensities in the magnetic resonance imager, and collected the function and diffusion tensor imaging of the participants.

The deterministic fiber bundle tracking method is used to obtain the arcuate fascicle direct pathway (dAF) connecting the frontal lobe motor cortex (including Broca's area and ventral anterior motor cortex) and auditory cortex (including the posterior superior temporal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus), And the anterior branch (aAF) and posterior branch (pAF) of the arcuate beam (aAF) and the posterior branch (pAF) in the indirect pathway connecting the auditory and motor areas by the parietal cortex (including the angular gyrus and the superior marginal gyrus) (Figure 4).

Anisotropy coefficient (FA), axial diffusion coefficient (AD) and longitudinal diffusion coefficient (RD) are simultaneously analyzed to better understand the changes in the properties of white matter fiber bundles caused by neuronal axon germination, trimming or reconnection , Such as the degree of neuron myelination.

Figure 4.
The topology and probability map of the bilateral arcuate beam direct pathway (dAF), anterior branch (aAF), and posterior branch (pAF).

The results show that, compared with non-musicians, musicians have higher FA values ​​for right dAF, left aAFs have lower RD values, and pAF is more left lateralized, and these indicators are both in musicians and non-musicians.
It can predict its syllable recognition ability under noisy background (Figure 5).

The analysis of mediating variables showed that the changes in blood oxygen levels of the right auditory cortex of musicians and non-musicians in the task state can be used as mediating variables to regulate the correlation between the FA value of right dAF and speech perception ability under noise (Figure 6).

Figure 5.
(A) The results of the comparison between the branches of the bow beam and the correlation with the speech perception performance under the background of noise.

(B) The results of the comparison between the groups of the lateralization indexes of each branch of the arcuate beam.

(C) The correlation between the degree of lateralization of the posterior arcuate beam and speech perception in the context of noise.

* FDR correction p <0.
05 after displacement test Figure 6.
Mediation analysis model results: The FA value of the direct path of the right arcuate beam affects the speech perception ability under noise by adjusting the blood oxygen level of the right auditory cortex.

* p <0.
05, ** p <0.
01 This research suggests that music performance or singing experience affects the white matter structure basis of the auditory-motor nerve loop in the silent place to promote the ability to encode and integrate verbal information.

This cross-domain "migration effect" has also prompted us to have a deeper understanding of the relationship between brain structure, function, and behavioral changes, which is important to help us better improve the speech perception ability of the elderly, hearing loss and speech impaired people.
Theoretical significance.

Related papers have been published online in Cerebral Cortex.

The first author of the paper is Li Xiaonan, a doctoral student at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and researcher Du Yi is the corresponding author.

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31671172, 31822024), the Strategic Leading Science and Technology Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB32010300) and the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

Paper information: Li, X.
, Zatorre, RJ, & Du, Y.
(2021).
The Microstructural Plasticity of the Arcuate Fasciculus Undergirds Improved Speech in Noise Perception in Musicians.
Cerebral Cortex.
DOI: 10.
1093/cercor/bhab063 Du, Y.
, & Zatorre, RJ (2017).
Musical training sharpens and bonds ears and tongue to hear speech better.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 114(51), 13579-13584.
doi: 10.
1073/pnas.
1712223114① Translation: The production of all music originates from the human heart.

People's inner activities are excited by the influence of external objects, so they are expressed through sound.

Various sounds are in harmony with each other, resulting in changes, and the ordering of changes is called sound.

Combine the sounds to perform and sing together with the dance of Qianqi and Yuyan as props, which is called Le.

② From a narrow definition, music and language are unique to human beings.

Source: Du Yi Research Group, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences