Large-scale multi-site study shows no association between musical training and early auditory neural sound encoding

Musical training has been reported to be associated with enhanced neural processing of sounds, as measured via the frequency following response (FFR), implying the potential for human subcortical neural plasticity. We conducted a large-scale multi-site preregistered study (n > 260) to replicate and extend the findings underpinning this important relationship. We failed to replicate any of the major findings selected for replication that were published previously in smaller studies. Musical training was not associated with enhanced neural encoding strength of a speech stimulus (/da/) in babble, whether measured via the spectral or temporal representations of the FFR. Similarly, the strength of neural tracking of a speech sound with a dynamic pitch trajectory was not related to either years of musical training or age of onset of musical training. Our findings provide no evidence for associations between early auditory neural responses and either musical training or musical ability.