More on the importance of rhythm perception: Relation to grammar

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Thursday, December 25, 2014

2:45 PM

 

Dissertation dish: Does music perception predict phonological awareness

The role of music perception in predicting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children by Lathroum, Linda M., Ph.D., University of Miami, 2011 , 130 pages; AAT 3491105

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of music perception in predicting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children. This study was based on the hypothesis that music perception and phonological awareness appear to have parallel auditory perceptual mechanisms. Previous research investigating the relationship between these constructs--music perception and phonological awareness--has been promising, but inconclusive. Phonological awareness is an important component of early literacy which many children struggle to acquire. If the constructs are shown to be related, music-based interventions may then be developed to promote phonological awareness, thus enhancing early literacy.

Music perception, phonological awareness, and visual-spatial skills of 119 five- and six-year-old children were tested. The researcher administered the Children's Music Aptitude Test (Stevens, 1987) in order to assess perception of pitch, rhythm, and melody. Subsequently, the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1999) was administered in order to measure phonological awareness skills, including blending, elision, and sound matching. The Visual Spatial Relations subtest of the Woodcock Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) was later used to assess visual spatial skills.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) allowed the researcher to model relationships between the latent variables to investigate the contribution of music perception, visual-spatial skills, and age to phonological awareness. Results supported the hypothesis that music perception, visual spatial skills, and age predict phonological awareness.

Additionally, music perception made a statistically significant contribution to phonological awareness, when controlling for visual spatial skills and age. Specifically, music perception predicted a larger amount of standardized unit change in phonological awareness than did the other predictors in the theory. Thus, music perception appears to have a stronger relationship with phonological awareness than age or visual spatial skills.

Further, results showed that a model without music perception as a predictor of phonological awareness was not supported. These findings confirm that music perception plays a unique role in predicting phonological awareness, above and beyond the contribution made by visual spatial skills and age. This study's results could be used in support of the development of music-based interventions for promoting phonological awareness in five- and six-year-old children.




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BRAMS - International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research

BRAMS is a unique research centre dedicated to research excellence, located in Montreal and jointly affiliated with the University of Montreal and McGill University. The research centre is devoted to the study of music cognition with a focus on neuroscience. On this introductory page, you will find a quick overview of BRAMS website's various features.

Is the Mozart effect dead?

Pietschniig, J., Voracek, M., & Formann, A. (in press).  Mozart effect–Shmozart effect: A meta-analysis, Intelligence.

Abstract (emphasis added by blogmaster)

The transient enhancement of performance on spatial tasks in standardized tests after exposure to the first movement “allegro con spirito” of the Mozart sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448) is referred to as the Mozart effect since its first observation by Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993). These findings turned out to be amazingly hard to replicate, thus leading to an abundance of conflicting results. Sixteen years after initial publication we conduct the so far largest, most comprehensive, and up-to-date meta-analysis (nearly 40 studies, over 3000 subjects), including a diversity of unpublished research papers to finally clarify the scientific record about whether or not a specific Mozart effect exists. We could show that the overall estimated effect is small in size (d = 0.37, 95% CI [0.23, 0.52]) for samples exposed to the Mozart sonata KV 448 and samples that had been exposed to a non-musical stimulus or no stimulus at all preceding spatial task performance. Additionally, calculation of effect sizes for samples exposed to any other musical stimulus and samples exposed to a non-musical stimulus or no stimulus at all yielded effects similar in strength (d = 0.38, 95% CI [0.13, 0.63]), whereas there was a negligible effect between the two music conditions (d = 0.15, 95% CI [0.02, 0.28]). Furthermore, formal tests yielded evidence for confounding publication bias, requiring downward correction of effects. The central finding of the present paper however, is certainly the noticeably higher overall effect in studies performed by Rauscher and colleagues than in studies performed by other researchers, indicating systematically moderating effects of lab affiliation. On the whole, there is little evidence left for a specific, performance-enhancing Mozart effect.

Technorati Tags: psychology, psychology of music, educational psychology, special education, intelligence, Mozart effect

Brain clock, Parkinson's and music

Interesting video discussing a connection between a disorder (Parkinson's) clearly linked to problems with the brain clock (esp. dopamine and the basal ganglia) and music/rhythm perception.

Technorati Tags: mental time keeping, brain clock, brain rhythm, IQ Brain Clock, music perception, music therapy, psychology, neuropsychology, intelligence, Parkinsons, cognition, brain rhythm, school psychology, educational psychology

Individual differences in rhtyhm perception and beat production

I received an advanced copy of a interesting manuscript accepted for publication by J. Grahn and D. McAuley, two researchers studying mental timing, and rhythm perception and beat production in particular.  The title of their "in press" article is Neural bases of individual differences in beat perception.  Since the manuscript has not gone through the final editing stage, I currently cannot make it available for viewing.  At this time I'm just providing a "sneak peak" via a copy of the abstract on the accepted version of the manuscript.  Dr. Grahn is listed under the Mental Timing Scholars blogroll at this blog.  Copies of other related publications by these researchers can be found at their professional web pages.  I'll be keeping an eye open for the formal publication

Abstract

When people listen to music, they often move their body in time with the beat. However, people differ widely in their tendency to ‘feel a beat’. Why? Here we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging with a timing task that is diagnostic of individual differences in beat perception and compared the brain activity of individuals who readily perceive an implied beat with those who do not. Activation in auditory and motor areas was correlated with individual differences in beat perception, even when participants performed a timing task in which no behavioral differences occurred. The results support two conclusions. First, beat perception is mediated by the activation of cortical circuits involved in rhythm production. Second, some individuals more readily engage these
cortical beat-based circuits when making timing judgments than do others.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, biological psychology, school psychology, music, neuropsychology, neuroscience, beat production, rhythm, rhythm perception, IQ Brain Clock

Snowball the dancing bird: The academic article found

I finally found an "in press" copy of the academic article that seems to have caused the recent stir regarding Snowball the dancing bird.  See prior post re: implications for topics covered at the IQ Brain Clock.

The article the Patel et al is in process in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.  Click here to view.

Enjoy.  You gotta love science when it studies the behaviors of a dancing bird posted on YouTube.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, intelligence, synchronization, beat perception, beat production, Snowball, music perception, temporal processing, IQ Brain Clock, mental timing

Music perception and the dancing bird

Music perception, rhythm, beat perception and production have been topics discussed at this blog as the mental or IQ Brain time clock and temporal processing seems to be intimately involved in these functions. Interestingly there is evidence from the animal kingdom that similar basic processes at play.

An interesting a fun example as a famous video clip of a dancing bird named Snowball. Watch it all...it gets very good.

Thanks to Amy Vega for sending this to me.Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, cognition, intelligence, mental timing, interval timing, mind clock, IQ Brain Clock, beat perception, beat production, musc perception, rhythm perception