Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain—3-Dimensional Proportional System: An Approach to Cerebral Imaging, J. Talairach, P. Tournoux. Georg Thieme Verlag, New York (1988), 122 pp., 130 figs. DM 268

http://dericbownds.net/uploaded_images/Herholz_Zatorre.pdf

Musical training as a framework for brain plasticity: behavior, function, and structure.

Prediction as a Humanitarian and Pragmatic Contribution from Human Cognitive Neuroscience

Influence of musical and psychoacoustical training on pitch discrimination

https://academic.oup.com/neurosurgery/article-pdf/33/5/945/24603073/0006123-199311000-00034.pdf

The Human Brain. Surface, Three-Dimensional Sectional Anatomy and MRI

Frequency discrimination thresholds (FDTs) at 750, 1500, 3000, and 6000 Hz were measured in 32 normal-hearing listeners before and after each listener practiced the task for 12 h at one of the above frequencies using a single ear. Marked improvements in thresholds taking place over several hours were observed during the frequency- and ear-specific training period. Comparisons between pre- and posttraining thresholds showed large improvements at the trained frequency, but also at other frequencies. The improvements were initially slightly—but significantly—larger at the trained frequency than at untrained frequencies. However, this trained-frequency advantage disappeared rapidly during the course of the two-hour multifrequency posttraining session, suggesting rapid relearning or learning generalization across frequencies. In contrast, no significant ear specificity was found, not even at early stages of the posttraining session. These findings add to earlier results suggesting that, in humans, frequency discrimination learning is only weakly frequency-specific, and they reveal that a complete generalization across frequencies can occur rapidly with little retraining at the initially untrained frequencies. Implications regarding underlying mechanisms are discussed.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10162-005-5055-4.pdf

Generalization of Frequency Discrimination Learning Across Frequencies and Ears: Implications for Underlying Neural Mechanisms in Humans

We tested changes in cortical functional response to auditory patterns in a configural learning paradigm. We trained 10 human listeners to discriminate micromelodies (consisting of smaller pitch intervals than normally used in Western music) and measured covariation in blood oxygenation signal to increasing pitch interval size in order to dissociate global changes in activity from those specifically associated with the stimulus feature that was trained. A psychophysical staircase procedure with feedback was used for training over a 2-week period. Behavioral tests of discrimination ability performed before and after training showed significant learning on the trained stimuli, and generalization to other frequencies and tasks; no learning occurred in an untrained control group. Before training the functional MRI data showed the expected systematic increase in activity in auditory cortices as a function of increasing micromelody pitch interval size. This function became shallower after training, with the maximal change observed in the right posterior auditory cortex. Global decreases in activity in auditory regions, along with global increases in frontal cortices also occurred after training. Individual variation in learning rate was related to the hemodynamic slope to pitch interval size, such that those who had a higher sensitivity to pitch interval variation prior to learning achieved the fastest learning. We conclude that configural auditory learning entails modulation in the response of auditory cortex to the trained stimulus feature. Reduction in blood oxygenation response to increasing pitch interval size suggests that fewer computational resources, and hence lower neural recruitment, is associated with learning, in accord with models of auditory cortex function, and with data from other modalities.

/pdf/modulation-of-auditory-cortex-response-to-pitch-variation-193ks5f3by.pdf

Modulation of auditory cortex response to pitch variation following training with microtonal melodies.

Background 
Recent behavioral studies report correlational evidence to suggest that non-musicians with good pitch discrimination sing more accurately than those with poorer auditory skills. However, other studies have reported a dissociation between perceptual and vocal production skills. In order to elucidate the relationship between auditory discrimination skills and vocal accuracy, we administered an auditory-discrimination training paradigm to a group of non-musicians to determine whether training-enhanced auditory discrimination would specifically result in improved vocal accuracy.
Methodology/Principal Findings 
We utilized micromelodies (i.e., melodies with seven different interval scales, each smaller than a semitone) as the main stimuli for auditory discrimination training and testing, and we used single-note and melodic singing tasks to assess vocal accuracy in two groups of non-musicians (experimental and control). To determine if any training-induced improvements in vocal accuracy would be accompanied by related modulations in cortical activity during singing, the experimental group of non-musicians also performed the singing tasks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Following training, the experimental group exhibited significant enhancements in micromelody discrimination compared to controls. However, we did not observe a correlated improvement in vocal accuracy during single-note or melodic singing, nor did we detect any training-induced changes in activity within brain regions associated with singing.
Conclusions/Significance 
Given the observations from our auditory training regimen, we therefore conclude that perceptual discrimination training alone is not sufficient to improve vocal accuracy in non-musicians, supporting the suggested dissociation between auditory perception and vocal production.

/pdf/vocal-accuracy-and-neural-plasticity-following-micromelody-1a6ipt7m8f.pdf

Karine Delhommeau

Papers

Generalization of Frequency Discrimination Learning Across Frequencies and Ears: Implications for Underlying Neural Mechanisms in Humans

Modulation of auditory cortex response to pitch variation following training with microtonal melodies.

Vocal accuracy and neural plasticity following micromelody-discrimination training.