Biology subjects

Ringer, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Ringer, H..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Neural tracking of auditory statistical regularities is reduced in adults with dyslexia

Listeners implicitly use statistical regularities to segment continuous sound input into meaningful units, e.g., transitional probabilities between syllables to segment a speech stream into separate words. Implicit learning of such statistical regularities in a novel stimulus stream is reflected in a synchronisation of neural responses to the sequential stimulus structure. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that neural tracking of the statistical stimulus structure is reduced in individuals with dyslexia who have weaker reading and spelling skills, and possibly also weaker statistical learning abilities in general, compared to healthy controls. To this end, adults with and without dyslexia were presented with continuous streams of (non-speech) tones, which were arranged into triplets, such that transitional probabilities between single tones were high within triplets and low between triplets. We found that neural tracking of the triplet structure, i.e., phase coherence of EEG response at the triplet rate relative to the tone rate, was reduced in adults with dyslexia compared to the control group. Moreover, enhanced neural tracking of the statistical structure was associated with better spelling skills. These results suggest that individuals with dyslexia have a rather broad deficit in processing structure in sound instead of a merely phonological deficit.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Neural signatures of automatic repetition detection in temporally regular and jittered acoustic sequences

Detection of repeating patterns within continuous sound streams is crucial for efficient auditory perception. Previous studies demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity of the human auditory system to periodic repetitions in randomly generated sounds. Automatic repetition detection was reflected in different EEG markers, including sustained activity, neural synchronisation, and event-related responses to pattern occurrences. The current study investigated how listeners attention and the temporal regularity of a sound modulate repetition perception, and how this influence is reflected in different EEG markers that were previously suggested to subserve dissociable functions. We reanalysed data of a previous study in which listeners were presented with random acoustic sequences with and without repetitions of a certain sound segment. Repeating patterns occurred either regularly or with a temporal jitter within the sequences, and participants attention was directed either towards or away from the auditory stimulation. Across both regular and jittered sequences during both attention and in-attention, pattern repetitions led to increased sustained activity throughout the sequence, evoked a characteristic positivity-negativity complex in the event-related potential, and enhanced inter-trial phase coherence of low-frequency oscillatory activity time-locked to repeating pattern onsets. While regularity only had a minor (if any) influence, attention significantly strengthened pattern repetition perception, which was consistently reflected in all three EEG markers. These findings suggest that the detection of pattern repetitions within continuous sounds relies on a flexible mechanism that is robust against in-attention and temporal irregularity, both of which typically occur in naturalistic listening situations. Yet, attention to the auditory input can enhance processing of repeating patterns and improve repetition detection.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Perceptual learning of random acoustic patterns: Impact of temporal regularity and attention

Perceptual learning is a powerful mechanism to enhance perceptual abilities and to form robust memory representations of previously unfamiliar sounds. Memory formation through repeated exposure takes place even for random and complex acoustic patterns devoid of semantic content. The current study sought to scrutinise how perceptual learning of random acoustic patterns is shaped by two potential modulators: temporal regularity of pattern repetition and listeners attention. To this end, we adapted an established implicit learning paradigm and presented short acoustic sequences that could contain embedded repetitions of a certain sound segment (i.e., pattern) or not. During each experimental block, one repeating pattern recurred across multiple trials, while the other patterns were presented in only one trial. During the presentation of sound sequences that contained either temporally regular or jittered within-trial pattern repetitions, participants attention was directed either towards or away from the auditory stimulation. Overall, we found a memory-related modulation of the event-related potential (ERP) and an increase in inter-trial phase coherence for patterns that recurred across multiple trials (compared to non- recurring patterns), accompanied by a performance increase in a (within-trial) repetition detection task when listeners attended the sounds. Remarkably, we show a memory-related ERP effect even for the first pattern occurrence per sequence when participants attended the sounds, but not when they were engaged in a visual distractor task. These findings suggest that learning of unfamiliar sound patterns is robust against temporal irregularity and inattention, but attention facilitates access to established memory representations upon first occurrence within a sequence.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Lateral prefrontal cortex as a hub for music production with gradation from structural rules to movement sequences

Complex sequential behaviours, such as speaking or playing music, often entail the flexible, rule-based chaining of single acts. However, it remains unclear how the brain translates abstract structural rules into concrete series of movements. Here we demonstrate a multi-level contribution of anatomically distinct cognitive and motor networks to the execution of novel musical sequences. We combined functional and diffusion-weighted neuroimaging to dissociate high-level structural and low-level motor planning of musical chord sequences executed on a piano. Fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal neural networks were involved when sequences violated pianists structural or motor plans, respectively. Prefrontal cortex is identified as a hub where both networks converge within an anterior-to-posterior gradient of action control linking abstract structural rules to concrete movement sequences.

neuroscience↗