Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency
Abstract Recent evidence suggests that musicians may have an advantage over non-musicians in perceiving speech against noisy backgrounds. Previously, musicians have been compared as a homogenous group, despite demonstrated heterogeneity, which may contribute to discrepancies between studies. Here, w...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20869-2 |
| _version_ | 1811202907354169344 |
|---|---|
| author | I-Hui Hsieh Hung-Chen Tseng Jia-Wei Liu |
| author_facet | I-Hui Hsieh Hung-Chen Tseng Jia-Wei Liu |
| author_sort | I-Hui Hsieh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Recent evidence suggests that musicians may have an advantage over non-musicians in perceiving speech against noisy backgrounds. Previously, musicians have been compared as a homogenous group, despite demonstrated heterogeneity, which may contribute to discrepancies between studies. Here, we investigated whether “quasi”-absolute pitch (AP) proficiency, viewed as a general trait that varies across a spectrum, accounts for the musician advantage in hearing-in-noise (HIN) performance, irrespective of whether the streams are speech or musical sounds. A cohort of 12 non-musicians and 42 trained musicians stratified into high, medium, or low AP proficiency identified speech or melody targets masked in noise (speech-shaped, multi-talker, and multi-music) under four signal-to-noise ratios (0, − 3, − 6, and − 9 dB). Cognitive abilities associated with HIN benefits, including auditory working memory and use of visuo-spatial cues, were assessed. AP proficiency was verified against pitch adjustment and relative pitch tasks. We found a domain-specific effect on HIN perception: quasi-AP abilities were related to improved perception of melody but not speech targets in noise. The quasi-AP advantage extended to tonal working memory and the use of spatial cues, but only during melodic stream segregation. Overall, the results do not support the putative musician advantage in speech-in-noise perception, but suggest a quasi-AP advantage in perceiving music under noisy environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:45:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d8838d32ddb140ce8e40a00a3f6c100b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:45:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-d8838d32ddb140ce8e40a00a3f6c100b2022-12-22T03:51:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-09-0112111610.1038/s41598-022-20869-2Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiencyI-Hui Hsieh0Hung-Chen Tseng1Jia-Wei Liu2Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central UniversityInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central UniversityInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central UniversityAbstract Recent evidence suggests that musicians may have an advantage over non-musicians in perceiving speech against noisy backgrounds. Previously, musicians have been compared as a homogenous group, despite demonstrated heterogeneity, which may contribute to discrepancies between studies. Here, we investigated whether “quasi”-absolute pitch (AP) proficiency, viewed as a general trait that varies across a spectrum, accounts for the musician advantage in hearing-in-noise (HIN) performance, irrespective of whether the streams are speech or musical sounds. A cohort of 12 non-musicians and 42 trained musicians stratified into high, medium, or low AP proficiency identified speech or melody targets masked in noise (speech-shaped, multi-talker, and multi-music) under four signal-to-noise ratios (0, − 3, − 6, and − 9 dB). Cognitive abilities associated with HIN benefits, including auditory working memory and use of visuo-spatial cues, were assessed. AP proficiency was verified against pitch adjustment and relative pitch tasks. We found a domain-specific effect on HIN perception: quasi-AP abilities were related to improved perception of melody but not speech targets in noise. The quasi-AP advantage extended to tonal working memory and the use of spatial cues, but only during melodic stream segregation. Overall, the results do not support the putative musician advantage in speech-in-noise perception, but suggest a quasi-AP advantage in perceiving music under noisy environments.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20869-2 |
| spellingShingle | I-Hui Hsieh Hung-Chen Tseng Jia-Wei Liu Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency Scientific Reports |
| title | Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| title_full | Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| title_fullStr | Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| title_short | Domain-specific hearing-in-noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| title_sort | domain specific hearing in noise performance is associated with absolute pitch proficiency |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20869-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ihuihsieh domainspecifichearinginnoiseperformanceisassociatedwithabsolutepitchproficiency AT hungchentseng domainspecifichearinginnoiseperformanceisassociatedwithabsolutepitchproficiency AT jiaweiliu domainspecifichearinginnoiseperformanceisassociatedwithabsolutepitchproficiency |