Brain signal variability as a window into the bidirectionality between music and language processing: moving from a linear to a nonlinear model

Frontiers in Psychology

Stefanie Hutka¹ 

关键词: musical training;    tone language;    transfer effects;    nonlinear dynamical systems;    brain signal variability;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00984

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

There is convincing empirical evidence for bidirectional transfer between music and language, such that experience in either domain can improve mental processes required by the other. This music-language relationship has been studied using linear models (e.g., comparing mean neural activity) that conceptualize brain activity as a static entity. The linear approach limits how we can understand the brain’s processing of music and language because the brain is a nonlinear system. Furthermore, there is evidence that the networks supporting music and language processing interact in a nonlinear manner. We therefore posit that the neural processing and transfer between the domains of language and music are best viewed through the lens of a nonlinear framework. Nonlinear analysis of neurophysiological activity may yield new insight into the commonalities, differences, and bidirectionality between these two cognitive domains not measurable in the local output of a cortical patch. We thus propose a novel application of brain signal variability (BSV) analysis, based on mutual information and signal entropy, to better understand the bidirectionality of music-to-language transfer in the context of a nonlinear framework. This approach will extend current methods by offering a nuanced, network-level understanding of the brain complexity involved in music-language transfer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY