An Empirical Reevaluation of Absolute Pitch: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Measurements

Elmer, Stefan; Sollberger, Silja; Meyer, Martin; Jäncke, Lutz

doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00410

Cited by 27 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…By contrast, we propose that AP ability is more likely dependent on the second processing stage, namely the later cognitive process related to pitch labeling. Our results are further supported by a previous EEG study by Elmer et al (Elmer, Hänggi, et al, 2013;Elmer, Sollberger, et al, 2013), which also did not reveal any differences with respect to neurophysiological processes indicating early sensory processing between AP and NAP musicians during passive listening. Certainly, we are fully aware that other authors (Matsuda et al, 2013;Schulze et al, 2013;Wu et al, 2008;Itoh et al, 2005;Ohnishi et al, 2001;Hirata et al, 1999) found evidence for auditory processing differences as a function of AP ability.…”

Section: Mmn Responsessupporting

confidence: 91%

“…This perspective is consistent with a large number of previous AP studies that adopted overt paradigms and reported reduced or even absent P300 amplitudes in AP participants (Crummer et al, 1994;Hantz et al, 1992;Wayman et al, 1992;Klein et al, 1984). Further evidence for the involvement of cognitive mechanisms in AP participants arises from labeling tasks, as manifested by a reduction in the P3b component, a reduction in the posterior positive and anterior negative slow waves (Itoh et al, 2005), or by increased N400 and LPC responses (Elmer, Sollberger, et al, 2013). Overall, the reduced P3a amplitudes in our study can be explained as decreased susceptibility among AP participants responding to tones, suggesting more efficient and parsimonious cognitive processing (Bendixen et al, 2010;Wetzel & Schröger, 2007;Wetzel, Widmann, Berti, & Schröger, 2006;Berti et al, 2004;Roeber, Berti, & Schröger, 2003;Gumenyuk et al, 2001;Escera, Alho, Winkler, & Näätänen, 1998;Schröger & Wolff, 1998).…”

Section: P3a Responsessupporting

confidence: 90%

“…In this context, previous EEG studies using active oddball paradigms revealed that AP is associated with a reduction or absence of the P300 component, probably reflecting more parsimonious memory processes (Crummer et al, 1994;Hantz et al, 1992;Wayman et al, 1992;Klein et al, 1984). Moreover, by using a conceptual association task, Elmer, Sollberger, et al (2013) identified later-occurring cognitively related brain responses (N400 and LPC; Kutas & Federmeier, 2011;Friedman & Johnson, 2000) as reliable and specific markers for AP.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…History of musical training was assessed by an in-house questionnaire previously used by our research group (Elmer, Hänggi, Meyer, & Jäncke, 2013;Elmer, Sollberger, et al, 2013;Elmer, Meyer, & Jäncke, 2012). This questionnaire was adopted to evaluate the age of onset of musical practice, the primary instruments played by the musicians, the number of years of musical training, and the self-estimated number of training hours per week during every 3-year period of life.…”

Section: History Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, there is growing evidence supporting the view that the second processing stage is the crucial psychological process where AP musicians differ from non-AP (NAP) musicians (Elmer, Sollberger, Meyer, & Jäncke, 2013;Zatorre, Perry, Beckett, Westbury, & Evans, 1998;Crummer, Walton, Wayman, Hantz, & Frisina, 1994;Klein, Coles, & Donchin, 1984). Evidence pointing into this direction arises, for example, from Zatorre et al (1998), who could show that the left posterior dorsolateral pFC, a brain region involved in conditional associative learning (Petrides, Alivisatos, Evans, & Meyer, 1993;Petrides, 1990), is selectively recruited during tone listening in AP participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Absolute Pitch: Evidence for Early Cognitive Facilitation during Passive Listening as Revealed by Reduced P3a Amplitudes

Rogenmoser

Elmer

Jäncke

2015

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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Absolute pitch (AP) is the rare ability to identify or produce different pitches without using reference tones. At least two sequential processing stages are assumed to contribute to this phenomenon. The first recruits a pitch memory mechanism at an early stage of auditory processing, whereas the second is driven more by a later cognitive mechanism (pitch labeling). Several investigations have used active tasks, but it is unclear how these two mechanisms contribute to AP during passive listening. The present work investigated the temporal dynamics of tone processing in AP and non-AP (NAP)participants, using EEG. We applied a passive oddball paradigm with between-and within-tone category manipulations and analyzed the MMN reflecting the early stage of auditory processing and, for the first time, the P3a response reflecting the later cognitive mechanism during the second processing stage. Results did not reveal between-group differences in MMN waveforms. But, the P3a response was specifically associated with AP and sensitive to processing different pitch types. Specifically, AP participants exhibited smaller P3a amplitudes, especially in between-tone category conditions, and P3a responses correlated significantly with the age of commencement of musical training, suggesting an influence of early musical exposure on AP. Our results reinforce the current opinion that the representation of pitches at the processing level of the auditory-related cortex is similar among AP and NAP participants, whereas the later processing stage is critical for AP. Results are interpreted as reflecting cognitive facilitation in AP participants, possibly driven by the availability of multiple codes for tones. Abstract ■ Absolute pitch (AP) is the rare ability to identify or produce different pitches without using reference tones. At least two sequential processing stages are assumed to contribute to this phenomenon. The first recruits a pitch memory mechanism at an early stage of auditory processing, whereas the second is driven by a later cognitive mechanism (pitch labeling). Several investigations have used active tasks, but it is unclear how these two mechanisms contribute to AP during passive listening. The present work investigated the temporal dynamics of tone processing in AP and non-AP (NAP) participants by using EEG. We applied a passive oddball paradigm with between-and withintone category manipulations and analyzed the MMN reflecting the early stage of auditory processing and the P3a response reflecting the later cognitive mechanism during the second processing stage. Results did not reveal between-group differences in MMN waveforms. By contrast, the P3a response was specifically associated with AP and sensitive to the processing of different pitch types. Specifically, AP participants exhibited smaller P3a amplitudes, especially in between-tone category conditions, and P3a responses correlated significantly with the age of commencement of musical training, suggesting an influence of early musical exposure on AP. Our ...

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Section: Mmn Responsessupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: P3a Responsessupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: History Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Absolute Pitch: Evidence for Early Cognitive Facilitation during Passive Listening as Revealed by Reduced P3a Amplitudes

Rogenmoser

Elmer

Jäncke

2015

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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Auditory aversion in absolute pitch possessors

Rogenmoser

Jäncke

et al. 2021

Cortex

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A reevaluation of the electrophysiological correlates of absolute pitch and relative pitch: No evidence for an absolute pitch-specific negativity

Leipold

Oderbolz

Greber

et al. 2019

International Journal of Psychophysiology

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Musicians with absolute pitch effortlessly identify the pitch of a sound without an external reference.Previous neuroscientific studies on absolute pitch have typically had small samples sizes and low statistical power, making them susceptible for false positive findings. In a seminal study, Itoh et al. (2005) reported the elicitation of an absolute pitch-specific event-related potential component during tone listening -the AP negativity. Additionally, they identified several components as correlates of relative pitch, the ability to identify relations between pitches. Here, we attempted to replicate the main findings of Itoh et al.'s study in a large sample of musicians (n = 104) using both frequentist and Bayesian inference. We were not able to replicate the presence of an AP negativity during tone listening in individuals with high levels of absolute pitch, but we partially replicated the findings concerning the correlates of relative pitch. Our results are consistent with several previous studies reporting an absence of differences between musicians with and without absolute pitch in early auditory evoked potential components. We conclude that replication studies form a crucial part in assessing extraordinary findings, even more so in small fields where a single finding can have a large impact on further research.

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An Empirical Reevaluation of Absolute Pitch: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Measurements

Cited by 27 publications

References 91 publications

Absolute Pitch: Evidence for Early Cognitive Facilitation during Passive Listening as Revealed by Reduced P3a Amplitudes

Absolute Pitch: Evidence for Early Cognitive Facilitation during Passive Listening as Revealed by Reduced P3a Amplitudes

Auditory aversion in absolute pitch possessors

A reevaluation of the electrophysiological correlates of absolute pitch and relative pitch: No evidence for an absolute pitch-specific negativity

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