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Neural Correlates of Processing Syntax in Music and ... - PubMan

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Experiment IV 150<br />

anterior: F(1,39) = 84.36, p < 0.001; right-anterior: F(1,39) = 48.59, p < 0.001). Further-<br />

more, the component’s amplitude was significantly larger <strong>in</strong> the MT group compared to<br />

the NM group <strong>in</strong> both anterior ROIs (left: F(1,39) = 6.24, p = 0.017; right: F(1,39) = 7.74, p<br />

= 0.008).<br />

The ANOVAs for each group revealed a ma<strong>in</strong> effect <strong>of</strong> syntactic regularity (MT:<br />

F(1,20) = 41.03, p < 0.001; NM: F(1,19) = 5.11, p = 0.036) as well as an <strong>in</strong>teraction <strong>of</strong> syntactic<br />

regularity × anterior-posterior distribution (MT: F(1,20) = 51.18, p < 0.001; NM:<br />

F(1,19) = 26.03, p < 0.001) <strong>in</strong> both groups. This <strong>in</strong>dicates that a significant LSN was<br />

found <strong>in</strong> both groups which had a larger amplitude at anterior sites. In the MT group, an<br />

<strong>in</strong>teraction <strong>of</strong> syntactic regularity × hemisphere × attention (F(1,20) = 6.07, p = 0.023)<br />

was found, whereas <strong>in</strong> the NM group <strong>in</strong>teractions <strong>of</strong> syntactic regularity × region ×<br />

attention (F(1,19) = 4.91, p = 0.039) <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> syntactic regularity × region × hemisphere<br />

(F(1,19) = 8.54, p = 0.009) were observed.<br />

12.4 Discussion<br />

The present experiment compared the process<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> musical <strong>and</strong> l<strong>in</strong>guistic syntax <strong>in</strong> 11year<br />

old children that either received musical tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g or not. The charts <strong>in</strong> Figure 12-3<br />

give an overview <strong>of</strong> the results <strong>of</strong> this experiment. Obviously, the amplitudes <strong>of</strong> the<br />

ERAN, the ELAN, <strong>and</strong> the LSN were considerably larger <strong>in</strong> the MT group compared to<br />

the NM group. The table below each chart conta<strong>in</strong>s the results from the user-def<strong>in</strong>ed<br />

contrasts that were employed to determ<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> which ROI the difference between the two<br />

experimental conditions (either irregular vs. regular chord or <strong>in</strong>correct vs. correct sentences).<br />

It is <strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> which ROI a component was significant, either when both<br />

groups are considered (first row), or when the MT group (third row) <strong>and</strong> the NM group<br />

(fourth row) were evaluated separately. The second row <strong>in</strong>dicates, if a larger amplitude<br />

was observed <strong>in</strong> the MT group compared to the NM group.<br />

The ERAN was found <strong>in</strong> both groups (MT <strong>and</strong> NM). It had a bilateral but slightly rightlateralized<br />

distribution at anterior scalp sites. Its latency is slightly delayed compared to<br />

adults with a peak at around 240 ms. Like <strong>in</strong> the MT group <strong>of</strong> the 9-year old children,<br />

an enlarged ERAN amplitude was found <strong>in</strong> the MT group <strong>of</strong> the 11-year old children. It<br />

is also <strong>in</strong> accordance with the evidence from an earlier study which found an enlarged<br />

ERAN amplitude <strong>in</strong> adult musicians compared to non-musicians (Koelsch, Schmidt et<br />

al., 2002). However, this f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g is remarkable given that the children <strong>in</strong> the MT group<br />

did play an <strong>in</strong>strument not longer than for around 5 years, <strong>and</strong> that the ERAN amplitude<br />

<strong>in</strong> the eleven-year old children with MT was <strong>in</strong>creased to 253% compared to the children<br />

with NM. The ERAN <strong>in</strong> the MT group seems to be more widely extended over the<br />

scalp, presumably due to its larger amplitude. The enlarged ERAN amplitude likely

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