Human Auditory-Motor Networks Show Frequency-Specific Phase-Based Coupling in Resting-State MEG.

Perception and production of music and speech rely on auditory-motor coupling, a mechanism which has been linked to temporally precise oscillatory coupling between auditory and motor regions of the human brain, particularly in the beta frequency band. Recently, brain imaging studies using magnetoencephalography (MEG) have also shown that accurate auditory temporal predictions specifically depend on phase coherence between auditory and motor cortical regions. However, it is not yet clear whether this tight oscillatory phase coupling is an intrinsic feature of the auditory-motor loop, or whether it is only elicited by task demands.

State-dependent connectivity in auditory-reward networks predicts peak pleasure experiences to music.

Music can evoke pleasurable and rewarding experiences. Past studies that examined task-related brain activity revealed individual differences in musical reward sensitivity traits and linked them to interactions between the auditory and reward systems. However, state-dependent fluctuations in spontaneous neural activity in relation to music-driven rewarding experiences have not been studied.

Cortical-subcortical interactions underlie processing of auditory predictions measured with 7T fMRI.

Perception integrates both sensory inputs and internal models of the environment. In the auditory domain, predictions play a critical role because of the temporal nature of sounds. However, the precise contribution of cortical and subcortical structures in these processes and their interaction remain unclear.

Auditory hemispheric asymmetry for actions and objects.

What is the function of auditory hemispheric asymmetry? We propose that the identification of sound sources relies on the asymmetric processing of two complementary and perceptually relevant acoustic invariants: actions and objects. In a large dataset of environmental sounds, we observed that temporal and spectral modulations display only weak covariation. We then synthesized auditory stimuli by simulating various actions (frictions) occurring on different objects (solid surfaces).

Theta oscillations linked to auditory informativeness and context disambiguation.

Accurate predictions and the processing of prediction error signals can be important for efficient interaction with the auditory environment. In a reanalysis of data from Simal et al . (2021), who found that informative tones elicited increased N1 and P2 event-related potential components, we sought to identify electrophysiological indicators in the time-frequency domain associated with disambiguation of the hearing context and prediction of forthcoming stimulation.

Spectro-temporal acoustical markers differentiate speech from song across cultures.

Humans produce two forms of cognitively complex vocalizations: speech and song. It is debated whether these differ based primarily on culturally specific, learned features, or if acoustical features can reliably distinguish them. We study the spectro-temporal modulation patterns of vocalizations produced by 369 people living in 21 urban, rural, and small-scale societies across six continents.

Information-based rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation to accelerate learning during auditory working memory training: a proof-of-concept study.

Introduction: Rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rhTMS) has been shown to enhance auditory working memory manipulation, specifically by boosting theta oscillatory power in the dorsal auditory pathway during task performance. It remains unclear whether these enhancements (i) persist beyond the period of stimulation, (ii) if they can accelerate learning and (iii) if they would accumulate over several days of stimulation. In the present study, we investigated the lasting behavioral and electrophysiological effects of applying rhTMS over the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) throughout the course of seven sessions of cognitive training on an auditory working memory task.

Using rare genetic mutations to revisit structural brain asymmetry.

Asymmetry between the left and right hemisphere is a key feature of brain organization. Hemispheric functional specialization underlies some of the most advanced human-defining cognitive operations, such as articulated language, perspective taking, or rapid detection of facial cues. Yet, genetic investigations into brain asymmetry have mostly relied on common variants, which typically exert small effects on brain-related phenotypes.

Spectrotemporal cues and attention jointly modulate fMRI network topology for sentence and melody perception.

Speech and music are two fundamental modes of human communication. Lateralisation of key processes underlying their perception has been related both to the distinct sensitivity to low-level spectrotemporal acoustic features and to top-down attention. However, the interplay between bottom-up and top-down processes needs to be clarified.

Attention-Driven Modulation of Auditory Cortex Activity during Selective Listening in a Multispeaker Setting.

Real-world listening settings often consist of multiple concurrent sound streams. To limit perceptual interference during selective listening, the auditory system segregates and filters the relevant sensory input. Previous work provided evidence that the auditory cortex is critically involved in this process and selectively gates attended input toward subsequent processing stages.

Auditory and reward structures reflect the pleasure of musical expectancies during naturalistic listening.

Enjoying music consistently engages key structures of the neural auditory and reward systems such as the right superior temporal gyrus (R STG) and ventral striatum (VS). Expectations seem to play a central role in this effect, as preferences reliably vary according to listeners' uncertainty about the musical future and surprise about the musical past. Accordingly, VS activity reflects the pleasure of musical surprise, and exhibits stronger correlations with R STG activity as pleasure grows.

Using cortico-cerebellar structural patterns to classify early- and late-trained musicians.

A body of current evidence suggests that there is a sensitive period for musical training: people who begin training before the age of seven show better performance on tests of musical skill, and also show differences in brain structure-especially in motor cortical and cerebellar regions-compared with those who start later. We used support vector machine models-a subtype of supervised machine learning-to investigate distributed patterns of structural differences between early-trained (ET) and late-trained (LT) musicians and to better understand the age boundaries of the sensitive period for early musicianship. After selecting regions of interest from the cerebellum and cortical sensorimotor regions, we applied recursive feature elimination with cross-validation to produce a model which optimally and accurately classified ET and LT musicians.

Development and validation of an fMRI-informed EEG model of reward-related ventral striatum activation.

Reward processing is essential for our mental-health and well-being. In the current study, we developed and validated a scalable, fMRI-informed EEG model for monitoring reward processing related to activation in the ventral-striatum (VS), a significant node in the brain's reward system. To develop this EEG-based model of VS-related activation, we collected simultaneous EEG/fMRI data from 17 healthy individuals while listening to individually-tailored pleasurable music - a highly rewarding stimulus known to engage the VS.

Singing training predicts increased insula connectivity with speech and respiratory sensorimotor areas at rest.

The insula contributes to the detection of salient events during goal-directed behavior and participates in the coordination of motor, multisensory, and cognitive systems. Recent task-fMRI studies with trained singers suggest that singing experience can enhance the access to these resources. However, the long-term effects of vocal training on insula-based networks are still unknown.

Using rare genetic mutations to revisit structural brain asymmetry.

Asymmetry between the left and right brain is a key feature of brain organization. Hemispheric functional specialization underlies some of the most advanced human-defining cognitive operations, such as articulated language, perspective taking, or rapid detection of facial cues. Yet, genetic investigations into brain asymmetry have mostly relied on common variant studies, which typically exert small effects on brain phenotypes.

The role of opioid transmission in music-induced pleasure.

Studies conducted in rodents indicate a crucial role of the opioid circuit in mediating objective hedonic reactions to primary rewards. However, it remains unclear whether opioid transmission is also essential to experience pleasure with more abstract rewards, such as music. We addressed this question using a double-blind within-subject pharmacological design in which opioid levels were up- and downregulated by administering an opioid agonist (oxycodone) and antagonist (naltrexone), respectively, before healthy participants (n = 21) listened to music.

Music and Brain Circuitry: Strategies for Strengthening Evidence-Based Research for Music-Based Interventions.

The neuroscience of music and music-based interventions (MBIs) is a fascinating but challenging research field. While music is a ubiquitous component of every human society, MBIs may encompass listening to music, performing music, music-based movement, undergoing music education and training, or receiving treatment from music therapists. Unraveling the brain circuits activated and influenced by MBIs may help us gain better understanding of the therapeutic and educational values of MBIs by gathering strong research evidence.

Going down to go up: understanding human auditory cognition by investigating cortical-subcortical interactions.

Human auditory cognition spans everything from detecting a creaking door in the night to enjoying beautiful music. Neurofunctional models of these processes tend to focus on cortical networks, but how do subcortical circuits contribute to auditory cognition? Answering this question will lead to a richer understanding of how we process the complex auditory world.

Training allows switching from limited-capacity manipulations to large-capacity perceptual processing.

In contrast to perceptual tasks, which enable concurrent processing of many stimuli, working memory (WM) tasks have a very small capacity, limiting cognitive skills. Training on WM tasks often yields substantial improvement, suggesting that training might increase the general WM capacity. To understand the underlying processes, we trained a test group with a newly designed tone manipulation WM task and a control group with a challenging perceptual task of pitch pattern discrimination.

Supramodality of neural entrainment: Rhythmic visual stimulation causally enhances auditory working memory performance.

The frontoparietal network is involved in multiple tasks, such as visual mental rotation, working memory, or arithmetic. Whether those different cognitive processes are supported by the same supramodal network or distinct, but overlapping, functional systems is unresolved. We investigate whether frontoparietal activity can be selectively entrained by rhythmic sensory stimulations (visual rotation) and whether this entrainment can causally modulate task performance in another modality (auditory working memory).

Early musical training shapes cortico-cerebellar structural covariation.

Adult abilities in complex cognitive domains such as music appear to depend critically on the age at which training or experience begins, and relevant experience has greater long-term effects during periods of peak maturational change. Previous work has shown that early trained musicians (ET; < age 7) out-perform later-trained musicians (LT; > age 7) on tests of musical skill, and also have larger volumes of the ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and smaller volumes of the cerebellum. These cortico-cerebellar networks mature and function in relation to one another, suggesting that early training may promote coordinated developmental plasticity.