Effects of Musical Training and Absolute Pitch on the Neural Processing of Melodic Intervals: A P3 Event-Related Potential Study

1992 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin C. Hantz ◽  
Garry C. Crummer ◽  
John W. Wayman ◽  
Joseph P. Walton ◽  
Robert D. Frisina
Keyword(s):  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
General Training ◽  
The Absolute

During perceptual tasks involving the discrimination of musical intervals, event-related potentials, specifically the P3, were measured for three subject groups: musicians without absolute pitch, musicians with absolute pitch, and nonmusicians. The two interval-discrimination tasks were a simple two-note contour task and a difficult interval-size discrimination task. Clear effects on the neural waveforms were found for both training and the presence of the absolute pitch ability. In general, training increases the amplitude and shortens the latency of the P3, while the absolute pitch ability reduces the amplitude and shortens the latency, or eliminates the P3 altogether. The absolute pitch effect may be due to the use of a long-term memory strategy involved in the correct performance of the discrimination task rather than performing the task by updating working memory each time a target occurs. Finally, these data are contrasted with those from studies involving sine tones and timbrediscrimination tasks.

scholarly journals Propofol and Midazolam Inhibit Conscious Memory Processes Very Soon after Encoding: An Event-related Potential Study of Familiarity and Recollection in Volunteers

2009 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Veselis ◽  
Kane O. Pryor ◽  
Ruth A. Reinsel ◽  
Yuelin Li ◽  
Meghana Mehta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Memory Function ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Memory Retention ◽  
Drug Infusion ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Related Potentials

Background Intravenous drugs active via gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors to produce memory impairment during conscious sedation. Memory function was assessed using event-related potentials (ERPs) while drug was present. Methods The continuous recognition task measured recognition of photographs from working (6 s) and long-term (27 s) memory while ERPs were recorded from Cz (familiarity recognition) and Pz electrodes (recollection recognition). Volunteer participants received sequential doses of one of placebo (n = 11), 0.45 and 0.9 microg/ml propofol (n = 10), 20 and 40 ng/ml midazolam (n = 12), 1.5 and 3 microg/ml thiopental (n = 11), or 0.25 and 0.4 ng/ml dexmedetomidine (n = 11). End-of-day yes/no recognition 225 min after the end of drug infusion tested memory retention of pictures encoded on the continuous recognition tasks. Results Active drugs increased reaction times and impaired memory on the continuous recognition task equally, except for a greater effect of midazolam (P < 0.04). Forgetting from continuous recognition tasks to end of day was similar for all drugs (P = 0.40), greater than placebo (P < 0.001). Propofol and midazolam decreased the area between first presentation (new) and recognized (old, 27 s later) ERP waveforms from long-term memory for familiarity (P = 0.03) and possibly for recollection processes (P = 0.12). Propofol shifted ERP amplitudes to smaller voltages (P < 0.002). Dexmedetomidine may have impaired familiarity more than recollection processes (P = 0.10). Thiopental had no effect on ERPs. Conclusion Propofol and midazolam impaired recognition ERPs from long-term memory but not working memory. ERP measures of memory revealed different pathways to end-of-day memory loss as early as 27 s after encoding.

scholarly journals PITCH MEMORY AND EXPOSURE EFFECTS: Statistical learning and the effects of implicit "absolute pitch" on the perception and evaluation of music

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Shay Ben-Haim ◽  
Zohar Eitan ◽  
Eran Chajut
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Absolute Pitch ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Auditory Cognition ◽  
Musical Cognition ◽  
Pitch Frequency

Recent studies indicate that the ability to represent absolute pitch values in long-term memory (LTM), long believed to be the possession of a small minority of trained musicians endowed with "absolute pitch" (AP), is in fact shared to some extent by a considerable proportion of the population. The current study examined whether this newly discovered ability affects aspects of music and auditory cognition, particularly pitch learning and evaluation. Our starting points are two well established premises: (1) frequency of occurrence has an influence on the way we process stimuli; (2) in Western music, some pitches and musical keys are much more frequent than others. Based on these premises, we hypothesize that if absolute pitch values are indeed represented in LTM, pitch frequency of occurrence in music would significantly affect cognitive processes, in particular pitch learning and evaluation. Two experiments were designed to test this hypothesis in participants with no AP, most with little or no musical training. Experiment 1 demonstrated a faster response and a learning advantage for frequent pitches over infrequent pitches in an identification task. In Experiment 2 participants evaluated infrequent pitches as more pleasing than frequent pitches when presented in isolation. These results suggest that absolute pitch representation in memory may play a substantial, hitherto unacknowledged role in auditory (and specifically musical) cognition.

Predictive Pre-updating and Working Memory Capacity: Evidence from Event-related Potentials

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1916-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tal Ness ◽  
Aya Meltzer-Asscher
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Related Potentials

It was recently proposed that lexical prediction in sentence context encompasses two qualitatively distinct prediction mechanisms: “pre-activation,” namely, activating representations stored in long-term memory, and “pre-updating,” namely, updating the sentence's representation, built online in working memory (WM), to include the predicted content [Lau, E. F., Holcomb, P. J., & Kuperberg, G. R. Dissociating N400 effects of prediction from association in single-word contexts. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 484–502, 2013]. The current study sought to find evidence for pre-updating and test the influence of individual differences in WM capacity on the tendency to engage in this process. Participants read strongly and weakly constraining sentences. ERPs were measured on the predictable noun as well as on the preceding verb, where the prediction is generated. Increased P600 amplitude was observed at the verb in the strongly constraining sentences, reflecting integration of the predicted upcoming argument, thus providing evidence for pre-updating. This effect was greater for participants with higher WM capacity, indicating that the tendency to engage in pre-updating is highly affected by WM capacity. The opposite effect was observed at the noun, that is, for participants with higher WM span, a greater decrease in P600 amplitude in the strongly constraining sentences was observed, indicating that the integration of a pre-updated word was easier. We discuss these results in light of previous literature and propose a plausible architecture to account for the interplay between pre-activation and pre-updating, mediating the influence of factors such as WM capacity.

scholarly journals Semantic Congruence Drives Long-Term Memory and Similarly Affects Neural Retrieval Dynamics in Young and Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo J. Alejandro ◽  
Pau A. Packard ◽  
Tineke K. Steiger ◽  
Lluis Fuentemilla ◽  
Nico Bunzeck
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Semantic Congruence

Learning novel information can be promoted if it is congruent with already stored knowledge. This so-called semantic congruence effect has been broadly studied in healthy young adults with a focus on neural encoding mechanisms. However, the impacts on retrieval, and possible impairments during healthy aging, which is typically associated with changes in declarative long-term memory, remain unclear. To investigate these issues, we used a previously established paradigm in healthy young and older humans with a focus on the neural activity at a final retrieval stage as measured with electroencephalography (EEG). In both age groups, semantic congruence at encoding enhanced subsequent long-term recognition memory of words. Compatible with this observation, semantic congruence led to differences in event-related potentials (ERPs) at retrieval, and this effect was not modulated by age. Specifically, congruence modulated old/new ERPs at a fronto-central (Fz) and left parietal (P3) electrode in a late (400–600 ms) time window, which has previously been associated with recognition memory processes. Importantly, ERPs to old items also correlated with the positive effect of semantic congruence on long-term memory independent of age. Together, our findings suggest that semantic congruence drives subsequent recognition memory across the lifespan through changes in neural retrieval processes.

Event-Related Potentials as Indices of Time Processing: A Review

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 89-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Françoise Macar ◽  
Franck Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Time Processing ◽  
Topographic Features ◽  
Accumulation Mechanism ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Temporal Encoding ◽  
On Line

Abstract This review examines ERP data that document the mechanisms and neural bases of time processing in the millisecond-to-minute range. Several types of ERP attest to the existence of timing capacities. Among them, one component of the Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) provides an on-line index of timing. CNV data strengthen the temporal accumulator concept, designed to subtend duration encoding. This conclusion is based on four main results: The positive relationship between temporal estimates and CNV amplitude is an index of the accumulation mechanism; the CNV peak is an index of time-based decision making; the CNV relates to temporal encoding, whereas temporal long-term memory may be linked to shifts of positive polarity; learning effects on CNV amplitude depend on topographic features, thus revealing functional differences among brain regions with respect to timing.

scholarly journals Event-related Potential and Behavioural Differences in Affective Self-Referential Processing in Long-term Meditators versus Controls

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sucharit Katyal ◽  
Greg Hajcak ◽  
Tamara Flora ◽  
Austin Bartlett ◽  
philippe goldin
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
The Self ◽  
Positive Potential ◽  
Contemplative Practices ◽  
Referential Processing ◽  
Brain Correlates ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Relationship

Contemplative practices are thought to modify one’s experience of self and fundamentally change self-referential processing. However, few studies have examined the effect of long-term meditation training on brain correlates of self-referential processing. Here we used the self-referential encoding task (SRET) to examine event-related potentials (ERP) during assessment of positive and negative self-views in long-term meditators versus demographically-matched meditation-naïve control participants. Compared to controls, meditators endorsed significantly more positive and less negative words as self-referential. We also found a between-group difference in the early component of the late-positive-potential (LPP) of the ERP characterised by a higher response to negative versus positive words in controls and no difference in meditators. These findings suggest that long-term meditation training alters self-referential processing towards a more adaptive view of self and neural equivalence towards positive and negative self-views. Such changes may be one aspect of how meditation modifies the relationship to self.

scholarly journals Behavioral and neural evidence of enhanced long-term memory for untrustworthy faces

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Weymar ◽  
Carlos Ventura-Bort ◽  
Julia Wendt ◽  
Alexander Lischke
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Potential Harm ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Fast Access

AbstractIn daily life, we automatically form impressions of other individuals on basis of subtle facial features that convey trustworthiness. Because these face-based judgements influence current and future social interactions, we investigated how perceived trustworthiness of faces affects long-term memory using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the current study, participants incidentally viewed 60 neutral faces differing in trustworthiness, and one week later, performed a surprise recognition memory task, in which the same old faces were presented intermixed with novel ones. We found that after one week untrustworthy faces were better recognized than trustworthy faces and that untrustworthy faces prompted early (350–550 ms) enhanced frontal ERP old/new differences (larger positivity for correctly remembered old faces, compared to novel ones) during recognition. Our findings point toward an enhanced long-lasting, likely familiarity-based, memory for untrustworthy faces. Even when trust judgments about a person do not necessarily need to be accurate, a fast access to memories predicting potential harm may be important to guide social behaviour in daily life.

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