Auditory imagery in congenital amusia

Abstract

Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder affecting various aspects of music and speech processing. Although perception and auditory imagery in the general population may share mechanisms, it is not known whether previously documented perceptual impairments in amusia are coupled with difficulties in imaging auditory objects. We employed the Bucknell Auditory Imagery Scale (BAIS) to assess participants’ self-perceived voluntary imagery and a short earworm questionnaire to gauge their subjective experience of involuntary musical imagery. A total of 32 participants with amusia and 34 matched controls, recruited based on their performance on the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA), filled out the questionnaires in their own time. The earworm scores of amusic participants were not statistically significantly different from those of controls. By contrast, their scores on vividness and control of auditory imagery were significantly lower relative to controls. Overall, results suggest that the presence of amusia may not have an adverse effect on generating involuntary musical imagery—at the level of self-report—but still significantly reduces the individual’s self-rated voluntary imagery of musical, vocal, and environmental sounds. We discuss the findings in the light of previous research on explicit musical judgments and implicit engagement with music, while also touching on some statistical power considerations.

Earworms in the Amusic Mind? Questionnaire Investigation in Congenital Amusia

“…The present questionnaire investigation confirms that musical earworms are a common experience in the general population, even in non-musicians, and extend this finding to the case of congenital amusia, even if musical earworms are less frequent in this population (see also Loutrari et al, 2022). Verbal earworms also occur, but seem to be a less frequent experience.…”

“…While surprising that even amusics might have INMI, this observation is in agreement with a very recent report that came out while writing our manuscript. Loutrari et al (2022) reported no difference in a global earworm score between controls and amusics. The more detailed responses of our questionnaire (adapted and extended from Halpern & Bartlett, 2011) revealed some alterations in amusics’ INMI that can be connected to other characteristics of amusic individuals (e.g., memory impairments).…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, the phenomenon of earworms has not been studied in congenital amusia. Note that when writing this report, a study on voluntary musical imagery in congenital amusia was published, also assessing earworms as part of a larger investigation (Loutrari et al, 2022). In contrast to our study, it used a single measure derived from an earworm questionnaire and observed no significant difference on this single aggregated measure between amusic and control participants.…”