The reader will 1) understand the broad range of deficits in phonological perception and processing that accompany deficits in musical pitch recognition, and 2) recognize the possible utility of musical evaluation measures and music-based therapies in the treatment of phonological and other speech disorders.
IntroductionSome individuals with difficulties understanding language also have problems perceiving music (Anvari, 2002). These problems may be related because musical pitch perception and speech perception share many of the same processing requirements. Both rely on the elements of sound (notes in music and phonemes in speech) organized into acoustic sequences comprised of small perceptual units and highly structured sequences (Patel and Daniele, 2002). These sequences are formed by rule-based permutations of a limited number of these discrete elements (phonemes in speech or tones in music) to yield meaningful structures (words or musical phrases). These are subject to further hierarchical organization resulting in more complex entities, such as sentences or melodies .Music and speech are common to all human societies . Both develop over time, and require continuous sustained attention, memory, exposure, and training. . Furthermore, music perception and speech perception are the result of sound processing by the listener de Cheveigne, 2004;Shamma, 2004;, and pitch information is an important component of both melodies and speech sounds.In view of these concepts, it was surprising when studies of individuals with focal brain lesions demonstrated instances in which perception of these two sound classes could be separated, and isolated deficits in the perception of either one or the other class of sounds were clearly documented (Peretz, 2002). The separation of these functions was also supported by brain imaging studies. PET and fMRI scans showed that while areas of the left temporal lobe, in particular Broca's and Wernicke's areas, are most highly activated in speech, musical listening *To whom correspondence should be addressed at: NIDCD, 5 Research Court, Rockville, MD 20850, Tel. 301-402-4930, E-mail: drayna@nidcd.nih.gov. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. However, more recent brain activity and functional imaging studies have supported the view that auditory processing of speech and music are localized in similar regions of the brain. Koelsch (2002) noted that there is considerable overlap of cortical networks, in the inferior fronto-lateral, anterior, and posterior temporal lobe structures in both hemispheres that are involved in the processing of...