Individual differences in neural markers of beat processing relate to spoken grammar skills in six-year-old children

Brain Lang. 2023 Nov;246:105345. doi: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105345. Epub 2023 Oct 31.ABSTRACTBased on the idea that neural entrainment establishes regular attentional fluctuations that facilitate hierarchical processing in both music and language, we hypothesized that individual differences in syntactic (grammatical) skills will be partly explained by patterns of neural responses to musical rhythm. To test this hypothesis, we recorded neural activity using electroencephalography (EEG) while children (N = 25) listened passively to rhythmic patterns that induced different beat percepts. Analysis of evoked beta and gamma activity revealed that individual differences in the magnitude of neural responses to rhythm explained variance in six-year-olds' expressive grammar abilities, beyond and complementarily to their performance in a behavioral rhythm perception task. These results reinforce the idea that mechanisms of neural beat entrainment may be a shared neural resource supporting hierarchical processing across music and language and suggest a relevant marker of the relationship between rhythm processing and grammar abilities in elementary-school-age children, previously observed only behaviorally.PMID:37994830 | DOI:10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105345

Source: Brain and Language - November 23, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Valentina Persici Scott D Blain John R Iversen Alexandra P Key Sonja A Kotz J Devin McAuley Reyna L Gordon Source Type: research