Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
Musicians and the metric structure of words
Céline Marie1, Cyrille Magne, Mireille Besson
1Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée CNRS and Aix-Marseille Universités, Marseille, France. Celine.Marie@incm.cnrs-mrs.fr
Abstract:
The present study aimed to examine the influence of musical expertise on the metric and semantic aspects of speech processing. In two attentional conditions (metric and semantic tasks), musicians listened to short sentences ending in trisyllabic words that were semantically and/or metrically congruous or incongruous. Both ERPs and behavioral data were analyzed and the results were compared to previous nonmusicians' data. Regarding the processing of meter, results showed that musical expertise influenced the automatic detection of the syllable temporal structure (P200 effect), the integration of metric structure and its influence on word comprehension (N400 effect), as well as the reanalysis of metric violations (P600 and late positivities effects). By contrast, results showed that musical expertise did not influence the semantic level of processing. These results are discussed in terms of transfer of training effects from music to speech processing.
Related Concept Videos
Problem-Solving: Tuning of a Guitar String
The string's wave speed can be regulated by varying the linear density. Tension is the other property that determines the speed of...
Units and Standards of Measurement
Measurements of physical quantities are...
Units and Standards of Measurement
Measurements of physical quantities are...
Beats
Measurement: Standard Units
SI Units: 2019 Redefinition
A standard set of units has been defined to...

