Covert singing in anticipatory auditory imagery.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Music Cognition

Background:

• fMRI studies show motor planning area activation during musical auditory imagery.
• The link between auditory imagery and peripheral motor activity remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if auditory imagery activations lead to peripheral motor activity, specifically subvocalization (covert singing).
• To explore the role of subvocalization in auditory imagery, particularly in relation to singing accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Surface electromyography (EMG) measured muscle activity in laryngeal and facial muscles.
• Muscle activity was recorded during auditory imagery preceding singing and a visual imagery task.
• Participants' singing accuracy was assessed.

Main Results:

• Increased activation in laryngeal and lip muscles during auditory imagery compared to visual imagery.
• No significant differences in other measured muscle sites across tasks.
• Less accurate singers showed greater laryngeal activity during auditory imagery than more accurate singers.

Conclusions:

• Subvocalization may serve as a strategy to enhance auditory imagery.
• Impaired auditory imagery in less accurate singers might be compensated by increased subvocalization.
• Subvocalization could supplement motor associations with auditory imagery during anticipatory tasks.