Pitch Memory Task Research Articles

Long-term pitch memory for music recordings is related to auditory working memory precision

Most individuals have reliable long-term memories for the pitch of familiar music recordings. This pitch memory (1) appears to be normally distributed in the population, (2) does not depend on explicit musical training and (3) only seems to be weakly related to differences in listening frequency estimates. The present experiment was designed to assess whether individual differences in auditory working memory could explain variance in long-term pitch memory for music recordings. In Experiment 1, participants first completed a musical note adjustment task that has been previously used to assess working memory of musical pitch. Afterward, participants were asked to judge the pitch of well-known music recordings, which either had or had not been shifted in pitch. We found that performance on the pitch working memory task was significantly related to performance in the pitch memory task using well-known recordings, even when controlling for overall musical experience and familiarity with each recording. In Experiment 2, we replicated these findings in a separate group of participants while additionally controlling for fluid intelligence and non-pitch-based components of auditory working memory. In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that participants could not accurately judge the pitch of unfamiliar recordings, suggesting that our method of pitch shifting did not result in unwanted acoustic cues that could have aided participants in Experiments 1 and 2. These results, taken together, suggest that the ability to maintain pitch information in working memory might lead to more accurate long-term pitch memory.

Pitch Memory in Nonmusicians and Musicians: Revealing Functional Differences Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.

For music and language processing, memory for relative pitches is highly important. Functional imaging studies have shown activation of a complex neural system for pitch memory. One region that has been shown to be causally involved in the process for nonmusicians is the supramarginal gyrus (SMG). The present study aims at replicating this finding and at further examining the role of the SMG for pitch memory in musicians. Nonmusicians and musicians received cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left SMG, right SMG, or sham stimulation, while completing a pitch recognition, pitch recall, and visual memory task. Cathodal tDCS over the left SMG led to a significant decrease in performance on both pitch memory tasks in nonmusicians. In musicians, cathodal stimulation over the left SMG had no effect, but stimulation over the right SMG impaired performance on the recognition task only. Furthermore, the results show a more pronounced deterioration effect for longer pitch sequences indicating that the SMG is involved in maintaining higher memory load. No stimulation effect was found in both groups on the visual control task. These findings provide evidence for a causal distinction of the left and right SMG function in musicians and nonmusicians.

Source Analysis of Event-Related Potentials During Pitch Discrimination and Pitch Memory Tasks

Our previous studies using fMRI have demonstrated that activations in human auditory cortex (AC) are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the task. The present study tested whether source estimation of scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) can be used to investigate task-dependent AC activations. Subjects were presented with frequency-varying two-part tones during pitch discrimination, pitch n-back memory, and visual tasks identical to our previous fMRI study (Rinne et al., J Neurosci 29:13338-13343, 2009). ERPs and their minimum-norm source estimates in AC were strongly modulated by task at 200-700ms from tone onset. As in the fMRI study, the pitch discrimination and pitch memory tasks were associated with distinct AC activation patterns. In the pitch discrimination task, increased activity in the anterior AC was detected relatively late at 300-700ms from tone onset. Therefore, this activity was probably not associated with enhanced pitch processing but rather with the actual discrimination process (comparison between the two parts of tone). Increased activity in more posterior areas associated with the pitch memory task, in turn, occurred at 200-700ms suggesting that this activity was related to operations on pitch categories after pitch analysis was completed. Finally, decreased activity associated with the pitch memory task occurred at 150-300ms consistent with the notion that, in the demanding pitch memory task, spectrotemporal analysis is actively halted as soon as category information has been obtained. These results demonstrate that ERP source analysis can be used to complement fMRI to investigate task-dependent activations of human AC.

P 35. Investigating a causal role of the supramarginal gyrus for pitch memory using transcranial direct current stimulation

Functional neuroimaging studies have shown an activation of the supramarginal gyrus during recognition pitch memory tasks and also showing a positive correlation of stronger activation of the left supramarginal gyrus and better task performance on the pitch memory task (Gaab et al., 2003, 2006). A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left supramarginal gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance; indicating an important role of the left supramarginal gyrus for pitch memory (Vines et al., 2006). The current study investigated a causal involvement of the left supramarginal gyrus for the pitch memory process in non-musicians by using anodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation to see whether this has a significant effect on the performance across different pitch memory paradigms (a recognition and a recall pitch memory task were used). A face memory task, used as a visual control task, was included to determine whether effects are specific to pitch memory. A between subject design was used. The two groups, which were matched by age, gender and pitch memory performance (evaluated in a preliminary test), either received anodal or sham stimulation over the left supramarginal gyrus and completed the three tasks in randomised order (between-subject design). The results show that the anodal group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks (see Figs. 1 and 2) but performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the supramarginal gyrus specifically for the pitch memory process. Anodal stimulation facilitates pitch memory. Additionally, a post hoc analysis of the serial position curve of pitch items in the recall task showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not effect a particular point of the working-memory process (recency or primacy effects) but boosts pitch memory performance in general. Anodal stimulation over the supramarginal gyrus increased pitch memory performance significantly suggesting that the supramarginal gyrus could be responsible for the storage of pitch information in the memory process.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the supramarginal gyrus facilitates pitch memory

Functional neuroimaging studies have shown activation of the supramarginal gyrus during pitch memory tasks. A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left supramarginal gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance, indicating an important role of the supramarginal gyrus in pitch memory. The current study aimed to determine whether pitch memory could be improved following anodal stimulation of the left supramarginal gyrus. The performances of non-musicians on two pitch memory tasks (pitch recognition and recall) and a visual memory control task following anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation were compared. The results show that, post-stimulation, the anodal group but not the control group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks; performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the left supramarginal gyrus in the pitch memory process, and highlight the potential efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation as a tool to improve pitch memory.

Performance in a Pitch Memory Task by Visually Handicapped Children and Youths

Abstract The present work discusses results concerning sound perception obtained in a pitch memorization experiment for blind and visually impaired subjects (children and teenagers). Listeners were divided into two age groups: 7-13 year olds and 14-18 year olds. The study tested 20 individuals (8 congenitally blind and 12 visually impaired) and 20 sighted persons comprising reference groups. The duration of the experiments was as short as possible due to the fact that our listeners were children. To date, no study has described results of such experiment for blind/visually handicapped children and teenagers. In the pitch memory experiment blind teenagers outperformed blind children and both age groups of visually impaired subjects in two out of three tested cases. These results may have implications for the development of auditory training in orientation and mobility of young visually handicapped people.

The functional anatomy of non-verbal (pitch memory) function in left and right anterior temporal lobectomy patients

An fMRI pitch memory task was administered to left and right anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) patients. The goal was to verify the neuroanatomical correlates of non-verbal memory, and to determine if pitch memory tasks can identify cognitive risk prior to ATL. The data showed that the bilateral posterior superior temporal lobes implement pitch memory in both ATL patients and NCs (normal controls), indicating that the task can be accomplished with either anterior temporal lobe resected. NCs activate the posterior temporal lobes more strongly than ATL patients during highly accurate performance. In contrast, both ATL groups activate the anterior cingulate in association with accuracy. While our data clarifies the functional neuroanatomy of pitch memory, it also indicates that such tasks do not serve well to lateralize and functionally map potentially “at risk” non-verbal memory skills prior to ATL.

Task-Dependent Activations of Human Auditory Cortex during Pitch Discrimination and Pitch Memory Tasks

The functional organization of auditory cortex (AC) is still poorly understood. Previous studies suggest segregation of auditory processing streams for spatial and nonspatial information located in the posterior and anterior AC, respectively (Rauschecker and Tian, 2000; Arnott et al., 2004; Lomber and Malhotra, 2008). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that active listening tasks strongly modulate AC activations (Petkov et al., 2004; Fritz et al., 2005; Polley et al., 2006). However, the task dependence of AC activations has not been systematically investigated. In the present study, we applied high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging of the AC and adjacent areas to compare activations during pitch discrimination and n-back pitch memory tasks that were varied parametrically in difficulty. We found that anterior AC activations were increased during discrimination but not during memory tasks, while activations in the inferior parietal lobule posterior to the AC were enhanced during memory tasks but not during discrimination. We also found that wide areas of the anterior AC and anterior insula were strongly deactivated during the pitch memory tasks. While these results are consistent with the proposition that the anterior and posterior AC belong to functionally separate auditory processing streams, our results show that this division is present also between tasks using spatially invariant sounds. Together, our results indicate that activations of human AC are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the behavioral task.

Perceiving pitch absolutely: Comparing absolute and relative pitch possessors in a pitch memory task

BackgroundThe perceptual-cognitive mechanisms and neural correlates of Absolute Pitch (AP) are not fully understood. The aim of this fMRI study was to examine the neural network underlying AP using a pitch memory experiment and contrasting two groups of musicians with each other, those that have AP and those that do not.ResultsWe found a common activation pattern for both groups that included the superior temporal gyrus (STG) extending into the adjacent superior temporal sulcus (STS), the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) extending into the adjacent intraparietal sulcus (IPS), the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and superior lateral cerebellar regions. Significant between-group differences were seen in the left STS during the early encoding phase of the pitch memory task (more activation in AP musicians) and in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL)/intraparietal sulcus (IPS) during the early perceptual phase (ITP 0–3) and later working memory/multimodal encoding phase of the pitch memory task (more activation in non-AP musicians). Non-significant between-group trends were seen in the posterior IFG (more in AP musicians) and the IPL (more anterior activations in the non-AP group and more posterior activations in the AP group).ConclusionSince the increased activation of the left STS in AP musicians was observed during the early perceptual encoding phase and since the STS has been shown to be involved in categorization tasks, its activation might suggest that AP musicians involve categorization regions in tonal tasks. The increased activation of the right SPL/IPS in non-AP musicians indicates either an increased use of regions that are part of a tonal working memory (WM) network, or the use of a multimodal encoding strategy such as the utilization of a visual-spatial mapping scheme (i.e., imagining notes on a staff or using a spatial coding for their relative pitch height) for pitch information.

Neural correlates of absolute pitch differ between blind and sighted musicians

Several reports have indicated a higher incidence of absolute pitch in blind than in sighted musicians. Employing a pitch memory task, we examined whether a blind absolute pitch musician would rely on different neural correlates than a group of sighted absolute pitch musicians. The blind musician showed significantly more activation of bihemispheric visual association areas, lingual gyrus, parietal and frontal areas than the sighted musicians. Sighted musicians showed more activation of the right primary auditory cortex and the cerebellum when compared with the blind musician. These differences in the activation pattern suggest the use of a different neural network including visual association areas while performing pitch categorization and identification in this blind musician in comparison with sighted musicians.

Temporal interval production and short-term memory

Interference with time estimation from concurrent nontemporal processing has been shown to depend on the short-term memory requirements of the concurrent task (Fortin & Breton, 1995; Fortin, Rousseau, Bourque, & Kirouac, 1993). In particular, it has been claimed that active processing of information in short-term memory produces interference, whereas simply maintaining information does not. Here, four experiments are reported in which subjects were trained to produce a 2,500-msec interval and then perform concurrent memory tasks. Interference with timing was demonstrated for concurrent memory tasks involving only maintenance. In one experiment, increasing set size in a pitch memory task systematically lengthened temporal production. Two further experiments suggested that this was due to a specific interaction between the short-term memory requirements of the pitch task and those of temporal production. In the final experiment, subjects performed temporal production while concurrently remembering the durations of a set of tones. Interference with interval production was comparable to that produced by the pitch memory task. Results are discussed in terms of a pacemaker-counter model of temporal processing, in which the counter component is supported by short-term memory.

The influence of sleep on auditory learning: a behavioral study.

Evidence continues to support a role for sleep in delayed learning without further practice. Here we demonstrate the beneficial influence of sleep on auditory skill learning. Fifty-six subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, trained and tested on a pitch memory task three times across 24 h. The morning group was trained at 09.00 h, retested 12 h later that same day, and again after 12 h sleep. The evening group was trained at 21.00 h, retested 12 h immediately after sleep, and again 12 h later the next day. At retesting, both groups combined showed significant delayed learning only after sleep, but not across equivalent periods of wake, regardless of which came first. These data add to the growing literature describing sleep-dependent learning throughout sensory and motor domains.

Functional anatomy of pitch memory—an fMRI study with sparse temporal sampling

Auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks are challenging since the MR scanner noise can interfere with the auditory stimulation. To avoid this interference a sparse temporal sampling method with a long repetition time (TR = 17 s) was used to explore the functional anatomy of pitch memory. Eighteen right-handed subjects listened to a sequence of sine-wave tones (4.6 s total duration) and were asked to make a decision (depending on a visual prompt) whether the last or second to last tone was the same or different as the first tone. An alternating button press condition served as a control. Sets of 24 axial slices were acquired with a variable delay time (between 0 and 6 s) between the end of the auditory stimulation and the MR acquisition. Individual imaging time points were combined into three clusters (0–2, 3–4, and 5–6 s after the end of the auditory stimulation) for the analysis. The analysis showed a dynamic activation pattern over time which involved the superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, posterior dorsolateral frontal regions, superior parietal regions, and dorsolateral cerebellar regions bilaterally as well as the left inferior frontal gyrus. By regressing the performance score in the pitch memory task with task-related MR signal changes, the supramarginal gyrus (left>right) and the dorsolateral cerebellum (lobules V and VI, left>right) were significantly correlated with good task performance. The SMG and the dorsolateral cerebellum may play a critical role in short-term storage of pitch information and the continuous pitch discrimination necessary for performing this pitch memory task.

Absolute Pitch and the P300 Component of the Event-Related Potential: An Exploration of Variables That May Account for Individual Differences

Our primary goal has been to elucidate a model of pitch memory by examining the brain activity of musicians with and without absolute pitch during listening tasks. Subjects, screened for both absolute and relative pitch abilities, were presented with two auditory tasks and one visual task that served as a control. In the first auditory task (pitch memory task), subjects were asked to differentiate between diatonic and nondiatonic tones within a tonal framework. In the second auditory task (contour task), subjects were presented with the same pitch sequences but instead asked to differentiate between tones moving upward or downward. For the visual control task, subjects were presented again with the same pitch sequences and asked to determine whether each pitch was diatonic or nondiatonic, only this time the note names appeared visually on the computer screen. Our findings strongly suggest that there are various levels of absolute pitch ability. Some absolute pitch subjects have, in addition to this skill, strong relative pitch abilities, and these differences are reflected quite consistently by the behavior of the P300 component of the event-related potential. Our research also strengthens the idea that the memory system for pitch and interval distances is distinct from the memory system for contour (W. J. Dowling, 1978). Our results are discussed within the context of the current absolute pitch literature.

Effects of musical training and absolute pitch on a pitch memory task: An event-related potential study.

Effects of musical training and absolute pitch on a pitch memory task: An event-related potential study.

Left handers outperform right handers on a pitch memory task

Subjects were presented with a test tone, followed by six interpolated tones and then by a second test tone; and they judged whether the test tones were the same or different in pitch. The test tones were either identical or they differed by a semitone. The experiment employed 76 right handers and 53 left handers, balanced for sex and musical experience. The left-handed group was found to display a significantly higher overall performance level, and also a significantly higher variance. It appears that left handers tend to be less susceptible to the disruptive effects of interpolated tones, at least when these can be ignored.