Event-related potential (ERP) markers of melodic processing: The N2 component is modulated by structural complexity, not by melodic 'meaningfulness'.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the event-related potential (ERP) evoked by a note shows substantial differences depending on whether the note is part of a melodic context or presented in an unstructured repetition. In particular, the N2 component has been found to have considerably increased latency and a more frontal topography for notes presented in a melody. An open question is whether such effect is related to the 'meaningfulness' of a note sequence, that is due to the formation of abstract melodic entities, rather than more simply an indicator of cognitive load associated with processing a structurally-complex sequence as opposed to an unstructured repetition.

Functional MRI/event-related potential study of sensory consonance and dissonance in musicians and nonmusicians.

Pleasurability of individual chords, known as sensory consonance, is widely regarded as physiologically determined and has been shown to be associated with differential activity in the auditory cortex and in several other regions. Here, we present results obtained contrasting isolated four-note chords classified as consonant or dissonant in tonal music. Using event-related functional MRI, consonant chords were found to elicit a larger haemodynamic response in the inferior and middle frontal gyri, premotor cortex and inferior parietal lobule.

FMRI/ERP of musical syntax: comparison of melodies and unstructured note sequences.

To date, the neural correlates of musical syntax processing have been investigated mainly by means of paradigms in which isolated chords are made incongruent with the harmonic context. Here, we present results obtained contrasting unfamiliar one-part piano melodies with unstructured note sequences, comparable in pitch and rhythm but devoid of any syntactic structure. This paradigm indexes a superset of the cognitive functions involved in processing of harmonic rules.