听觉选择性注意的可塑性及其神经机制研究

本文旨在研究音乐训练是否能增强基于音高和空间位置的听觉选择性注意力,以及音乐训练对听觉可塑性的神经机制.听觉感知实验中,受试者根据音高差异或空间位置差异,选择两个同时播放的数字之一.听觉认知实验在安静和噪声环境中播放频率分辨率不同的复合音,记录受试者听觉脑干频率跟随响应(frequency-following responses,FFRs).本文提出分析FFR的四种方法,即包络相关频率跟随响应(envelope-related frequency-following response,FFRENV)的短时锁相值、瞬时相位差极性图、相位差均值矢量以及时间细节结构相关频率跟随响应(temporal-fine-structure-related frequency-following response,FFRTFS)的幅度谱信噪比.实验结果表明,在完成基于音高的任务时,受过音乐训练的受试者准确率更高、反应时间更短.外界噪声不影响两组人群在基频(fundamental frequency,F0)的神经元锁相能力,但是显著降低了谐波处的神经元锁相能力.受过音乐训练的受试者的神经元在基频处的锁相能力和谐波处抗噪能力均增强,且其FFRTFS幅度谱信噪比与基于音高的行为学准确率呈正相关.因此,受过音乐训练的受试者其音高选择性注意感知能力的提高取决于认知神经能力的增强,经过音乐训练后,F0处FFRENV的锁相能力、谐波处FFRTFS的抗噪和持续锁相能力以及谐波处FFRTFS幅度谱信噪比均明显增强.音乐训练对听觉选择性注意具有显著的可塑性.     

音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的认知神经机制

音乐是一种听觉艺术形式，在儿童教育和发展中，尤其是语言能力发展中扮演着重要角色。语音意识是个体感知识别、分析和运用语音的能力，是预测儿童语言读写能力的重要指标。本文梳理了近十年来音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的研究证据，并讨论了音乐训练可能促进语音意识的神经基础和解释模型。大量研究表明，音乐训练可以在行为水平提高儿童在语音意识测量任务上的成绩。此外，音乐训练从两方面影响语音加工的神经基础：一方面通过影响皮层下基本听觉神经通路与大脑听觉皮层，促进儿童前注意水平的语音感知能力；另一方面通过影响语音加工大脑区域间的功能连接，促进语音编码，强化语音加工的听觉-运动整合功能。相关神经机制为音乐训练促进儿童的语音意识提供了生物学基础。基于已有研究，本文提出综合的层级模型对音乐训练影响儿童语音意识的认知神经机制进行系统的解释，该模型认为音乐训练影响语音意识的认知神经机制分为3个层级：第一层级，音乐训练通过影响基本听觉神经通路促进了语音的基本听觉加工，其中节奏训练促进对语音时长信息的感知，音高训练促进对语音频率信息的感知；第二层级，音乐训练通过影响语音加工的神经网络，进一步促进语音编码，其中节奏训练主要促进辅音、韵脚和音节的识别和编码，音高训练促进元音、韵脚和音节的识别和编码；第三层级，音乐训练通过增强听觉与运动脑区之间的信息整合，增强语音运动表征，以及听觉-运动整合能力，进一步提高了语音表征的质量。该领域的研究不但可以揭示人类语言发展的认知神经机制，而且在儿童教育领域具有非常重要的现实意义和应用价值。     

音乐治疗效应的动物实验研究

近年来国内外关于音乐治疗效应的动物实验研究认为：音乐能影响动物的情绪;音乐还对动物的免疫功能、学习及记忆能力、以及动物的神经系统结构和功能等均有一定影响。该领域的研究有利于深入探索音乐疗法的作用机理。     

音乐刺激孕鼠对子代鼠大脑功能影响的系统评价

目的系统评价音乐刺激孕鼠对子代鼠大脑功能的影响效果,为促进实验动物的福利以及音乐胎教的应用发展提供科学依据。方法计算机检索Pubmed、Web of Science、Cochrane Library、万方、维普、中国知网和中国生物医学文献数据库,全面收集有关音乐刺激孕鼠对子代鼠大脑功能影响效果的研究文献,检索时限为建库至2016年4月2日。按照纳入与排除标准选择文献、评价文献质量和提取数据,并对数据进行定性描述。结果共纳入7篇实验研究,4篇中文,3篇英文。研究对象均为大鼠,其中5项研究采用Wistar大鼠,2项研究采用SD大鼠。音乐材料涉及舒适音乐、古典音乐、小提琴协奏曲(梁祝),干预周期为妊娠期至分娩期前后不等。研究结果显示:孕期音乐刺激在一定程度上能促进子代大鼠的大脑神经发生,提高空间记忆能力,但对某些功能性受体的表达影响不显著。结论适宜的音乐可以促进子代大鼠大脑功能的发展。     

掌握记忆的规律性上好生物课

记忆本身既有规律性,同时又与思维、观察等能力是相辅相成的。因此,培养学生的记忆能力不能单独地进行。教师的每堂课都是对学生各方面的能力的综合培养,如必须把概念的形成,知识的分类,判断与推理,归纳与演绎,分析与对比等思维的基本形式,渗透到教学的各个     

评价目标中能力层次的界定及具体内容

讨论高中生物学会考目标,已是当前教学中令人瞩目的研究课题。通过讨论,搞清了目标,尤其是目标中能力层次与内容,教师在教学中就能把握住教材的深度和广度,从中对学生进行能力的培养和提高。无疑对教学质量的提高将是一个很大的促进。 (一)能力层次的界定高中生物学会考目标之一,就是客观、准确、全面地测量学生掌握生物学知识水平和解题能力。其中能力层次如何界定?每个层次中应包括哪些具体内容?我过去很少考虑,也谈不上有什么研究。通过学习和自1984年来对本省高中生物学会考试卷的分析,我认为参考美国教育学家、心理学家B布鲁姆关于教育目标分类方法和1987年国家教委颁布的全日制中学生物学教学大纲来界定,比较恰当,令人信服。依照B布鲁姆关于教育目标分类理论和教学大纲,可将认知领域概括为以下六个层次: 1.识记就是平时常说的记忆。记忆学过的教     

音乐对脑的正性影响与机制

文章主要阐述了音乐对脑的多方面正性影响,主要包括空间推理能力的提升（莫扎特效应）,学习记忆能力的增强等;在痰病治疗方面,则集中于音乐对精神和神经性疾病,如癫痫、孤独症、帕金森综合症、老年性痴呆等的影响。目前,音乐对机体产生的这些正性影响的具体分子机制还不十分清晰,本文将细述在音乐暴露的情况下,大脑中相关神经细胞的生长、分化、凋亡及蛋白质合成的调控,某些神经递质（如多巴胺,五羟色胺,Y-氨基丁酸等）的合成与释放,类固醇激素分泌对脑内物质合成与分泌的调节,以及BDNF／TrkB信号通路和NGF的调节。     

音乐对脑的正性影响与机制

文章主要阐述了音乐对脑的多方面正性影响,主要包括空间推理能力的提升(莫扎特效应),学习记忆能力的增强等;在疾病治疗方面,则集中于音乐对精神和神经性疾病,如癫痫、孤独症、帕金森综合症、老年性痴呆等的影响。目前,音乐对机体产生的这些正性影响的具体分子机制还不十分清晰,本文将细述在音乐暴露的情况下,大脑中相关神经细胞的生长、分化、凋亡及蛋白质合成的调控,某些神经递质(如多巴胺,五羟色胺,γ-氨基丁酸等)的合成与释放,类固醇激素分泌对脑内物质合成与分泌的调节,以及BDNF/TrkB信号通路和NGF的调节。     

意大利蜜蜂哺育蜂学习记忆相关基因的转录组学分析

【目的】筛选与意大利蜜蜂Apis mellifera ligustica哺育蜂学习记忆密切相关的基因。【方法】在人工组建意大利蜜蜂蜂群中收集10日龄哺育蜂、21日龄哺育蜂、21日龄采集蜂,通过喙伸反应(proboscis extension reflex, PER)实验测定这3组样本之间学习记忆能力的差异。利用RNA-seq技术对具有学习能力和不具有学习能力的10日龄哺育蜂和21日龄哺育蜂脑中基因表达量进行全面分析,筛选出与哺育蜂学习记忆密切相关的差异表达基因(DEGs),并对这些差异表达基因进行GO和KEGG富集分析。qPCR检测随机选取的3个DEGs(上调基因TpnCⅢa和MED23以及下调基因Pkc)在具有学习能力和不具有学习能力的10日龄哺育蜂和21日龄哺育蜂脑中的表达量。【结果】PER实验结果显示,经过5次训练后,意大利蜜蜂21日龄哺育蜂的学习能力显著高于10日龄哺育蜂的,而21日龄哺育蜂和21日龄采集蜂的学习能力无显著差异;同样地,21日龄哺育蜂的记忆能力显著高于10日龄哺育蜂的,而21日龄哺育蜂和21日龄采集蜂的记忆能力无显著差异。RNA-seq分析筛选到88个与哺育蜂学习记忆密切相关的DEGs,其中18个上调表达,70个下调表达。GO富集结果显示,上调DEGs在生物学进程分类中富集的基因数最多,主要富集在信号转导、蛋白质加工修饰相关;下调DEGs也是在生物学进程分类中富集的基因数最多,主要富集在转录、信号转导、蛋白质生物合成相关,其中显著性富集在转录相关。KEGG富集结果显示,下调DEGs显著性富集在吞噬、光转导、AGE-RAGE信号通路。qPCR结果显示差异表达基因TpnCⅢa,MED23和Pkc在具有学习能力和不具有学习能力的10日龄哺育蜂和21日龄哺育蜂脑中的表达水平的变化趋势与RNA-seq数据中的变化趋势一致。【结论】PER实验表明日龄是影响意大利蜜蜂哺育蜂的学习和记忆能力的重要因素;同时本研究获得学习后哺育蜂脑部的基因表达变化趋势和富集分析,为深入研究哺育蜂学习记忆的分子机制奠定了重要的理论基础。     

醋酸菌多相分类研究进展

醋酸菌是一大群革兰氏染色阴性、绝对好氧的细菌的总称, 能将乙醇或糖类不完全氧化为有机酸。醋酸菌的分类在近30年经历了很大变化, 早期的分类系统主要以表型和生化特征为基础。如今, 大多采用结合表型、化学分类法和基因型数据的多相分类法对醋酸菌进行分类。本文综述了醋酸菌的多相分类研究进展, 主要介绍了醋酸菌的现行分类情况及表型分类、化学分类和基因分型等方法在醋酸菌分类中的应用。     

Absolute pitch: effects of timbre on note-naming ability

Background

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce isolated musical tones. It is evident primarily among individuals who started music lessons in early childhood. Because AP requires memory for specific pitches as well as learned associations with verbal labels (i.e., note names), it represents a unique opportunity to study interactions in memory between linguistic and nonlinguistic information. One untested hypothesis is that the pitch of voices may be difficult for AP possessors to identify. A musician''s first instrument may also affect performance and extend the sensitive period for acquiring accurate AP.

Methods/Principal Findings

A large sample of AP possessors was recruited on-line. Participants were required to identity test tones presented in four different timbres: piano, pure tone, natural (sung) voice, and synthesized voice. Note-naming accuracy was better for non-vocal (piano and pure tones) than for vocal (natural and synthesized voices) test tones. This difference could not be attributed solely to vibrato (pitch variation), which was more pronounced in the natural voice than in the synthesized voice. Although starting music lessons by age 7 was associated with enhanced note-naming accuracy, equivalent abilities were evident among listeners who started music lessons on piano at a later age.

Conclusions/Significance

Because the human voice is inextricably linked to language and meaning, it may be processed automatically by voice-specific mechanisms that interfere with note naming among AP possessors. Lessons on piano or other fixed-pitch instruments appear to enhance AP abilities and to extend the sensitive period for exposure to music in order to develop accurate AP.     

Congenital amusia: all the songs sound the same

Recent evidence from individuals born with a profound musical impairment suggests that the ability to process pitch information is normally present from birth. This finding supports the idea that the perception and appreciation of music, both of which critically depend on pitch processing, have a biological basis in the brain.     

Vowel Identity between Note Labels Confuses Pitch Identification in Non-Absolute Pitch Possessors

The simplest and likeliest assumption concerning the cognitive bases of absolute pitch (AP) is that at its origin there is a particularly skilled function which matches the height of the perceived pitch to the verbal label of the musical tone. Since there is no difference in sound frequency resolution between AP and non-AP (NAP) musicians, the hypothesis of the present study is that the failure of NAP musicians in pitch identification relies mainly in an inability to retrieve the correct verbal label to be assigned to the perceived musical note. The primary hypothesis is that, when asked to identify tones, NAP musicians confuse the verbal labels to be attached to the stimulus on the basis of their phonetic content. Data from two AP tests are reported, in which subjects had to respond in the presence or in the absence of visually presented verbal note labels (fixed Do solmization). Results show that NAP musicians confuse more frequently notes having a similar vowel in the note label. They tend to confuse e.g. a 261 Hz tone (Do) more often with Sol than, e.g., with La. As a second goal, we wondered whether this effect is lateralized, i.e. whether one hemisphere is more responsible than the other in the confusion of notes with similar labels. This question was addressed by observing pitch identification during dichotic listening. Results showed that there is a right hemispheric disadvantage, in NAP but not AP musicians, in the retrieval of the verbal label to be assigned to the perceived pitch. The present results indicate that absolute pitch has strong verbal bases, at least from a cognitive point of view.     

Effects of Early Bilingual Experience with a Tone and a Non-Tone Language on Speech-Music Integration

We investigated music and language processing in a group of early bilinguals who spoke a tone language and a non-tone language (Cantonese and Dutch). We assessed online speech-music processing interactions, that is, interactions that occur when speech and music are processed simultaneously in songs, with a speeded classification task. In this task, participants judged sung pseudowords either musically (based on the direction of the musical interval) or phonologically (based on the identity of the sung vowel). We also assessed longer-term effects of linguistic experience on musical ability, that is, the influence of extensive prior experience with language when processing music. These effects were assessed with a task in which participants had to learn to identify musical intervals and with four pitch-perception tasks. Our hypothesis was that due to their experience in two different languages using lexical versus intonational tone, the early Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals would outperform the Dutch control participants. In online processing, the Cantonese-Dutch bilinguals processed speech and music more holistically than controls. This effect seems to be driven by experience with a tone language, in which integration of segmental and pitch information is fundamental. Regarding longer-term effects of linguistic experience, we found no evidence for a bilingual advantage in either the music-interval learning task or the pitch-perception tasks. Together, these results suggest that being a Cantonese-Dutch bilingual does not have any measurable longer-term effects on pitch and music processing, but does have consequences for how speech and music are processed jointly.     

Genome-Wide Copy Number Variation Analysis in Extended Families and Unrelated Individuals Characterized for Musical Aptitude and Creativity in Music

Music perception and practice represent complex cognitive functions of the human brain. Recently, evidence for the molecular genetic background of music related phenotypes has been obtained. In order to further elucidate the molecular background of musical phenotypes we analyzed genome wide copy number variations (CNVs) in five extended pedigrees and in 172 unrelated subjects characterized for musical aptitude and creative functions in music. Musical aptitude was defined by combination of the scores of three music tests (COMB scores): auditory structuring ability, Seashores test for pitch and for time. Data on creativity in music (herein composing, improvising and/or arranging music) was surveyed using a web-based questionnaire.Several CNVRs containing genes that affect neurodevelopment, learning and memory were detected. A deletion at 5q31.1 covering the protocadherin-α gene cluster (Pcdha 1-9) was found co-segregating with low music test scores (COMB) in both sample sets. Pcdha is involved in neural migration, differentiation and synaptogenesis. Creativity in music was found to co-segregate with a duplication covering glucose mutarotase gene (GALM) at 2p22. GALM has influence on serotonin release and membrane trafficking of the human serotonin transporter. Interestingly, genes related to serotonergic systems have been shown to associate not only with psychiatric disorders but also with creativity and music perception. Both, Pcdha and GALM, are related to the serotonergic systems influencing cognitive and motor functions, important for music perception and practice. Finally, a 1.3 Mb duplication was identified in a subject with low COMB scores in the region previously linked with absolute pitch (AP) at 8q24. No differences in the CNV burden was detected among the high/low music test scores or creative/non-creative groups. In summary, CNVs and genes found in this study are related to cognitive functions. Our result suggests new candidate genes for music perception related traits and supports the previous results from AP study.     

Layman versus Professional Musician: Who Makes the Better Judge?

The increasing number of casting shows and talent contests in the media over the past years suggests a public interest in rating the quality of vocal performances. In many of these formats, laymen alongside music experts act as judges. Whereas experts'' judgments are considered objective and reliable when it comes to evaluating singing voice, little is known about laymen’s ability to evaluate peers. On the one hand, layman listeners–who by definition did not have any formal training or regular musical practice–are known to have internalized the musical rules on which singing accuracy is based. On the other hand, layman listeners’ judgment of their own vocal skills is highly inaccurate. Also, when compared with that of music experts, their level of competence in pitch perception has proven limited. The present study investigates laypersons'' ability to objectively evaluate melodies performed by untrained singers. For this purpose, laymen listeners were asked to judge sung melodies. The results were compared with those of music experts who had performed the same task in a previous study. Interestingly, the findings show a high objectivity and reliability in layman listeners. Whereas both the laymen''s and experts'' definition of pitch accuracy overlap, differences regarding the musical criteria employed in the rating task were evident. The findings suggest that the effect of expertise is circumscribed and limited and supports the view that laypersons make trustworthy judges when evaluating the pitch accuracy of untrained singers.     

Effects of culture on musical pitch perception

The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association--the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders--remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch) that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic) comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm) processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada) were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means 'teacher' and 'to try' when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively). Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages). This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population), we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of culture-to-perception influences.     

Musical Expertise and the Ability to Imagine Loudness

Most perceived parameters of sound (e.g. pitch, duration, timbre) can also be imagined in the absence of sound. These parameters are imagined more veridically by expert musicians than non-experts. Evidence for whether loudness is imagined, however, is conflicting. In music, the question of whether loudness is imagined is particularly relevant due to its role as a principal parameter of performance expression. This study addressed the hypothesis that the veridicality of imagined loudness improves with increasing musical expertise. Experts, novices and non-musicians imagined short passages of well-known classical music under two counterbalanced conditions: 1) while adjusting a slider to indicate imagined loudness of the music and 2) while tapping out the rhythm to indicate imagined timing. Subtests assessed music listening abilities and working memory span to determine whether these factors, also hypothesised to improve with increasing musical expertise, could account for imagery task performance. Similarity between each participant’s imagined and listening loudness profiles and reference recording intensity profiles was assessed using time series analysis and dynamic time warping. The results suggest a widespread ability to imagine the loudness of familiar music. The veridicality of imagined loudness tended to be greatest for the expert musicians, supporting the predicted relationship between musical expertise and musical imagery ability.     

Amusia Results in Abnormal Brain Activity following Inappropriate Intonation during Speech Comprehension

Pitch processing is a critical ability on which humans' tonal musical experience depends, and which is also of paramount importance for decoding prosody in speech. Congenital amusia refers to deficits in the ability to properly process musical pitch, and recent evidence has suggested that this musical pitch disorder may impact upon the processing of speech sounds. Here we present the first electrophysiological evidence demonstrating that individuals with amusia who speak Mandarin Chinese are impaired in classifying prosody as appropriate or inappropriate during a speech comprehension task. When presented with inappropriate prosody stimuli, control participants elicited a larger P600 and smaller N100 relative to the appropriate condition. In contrast, amusics did not show significant differences between the appropriate and inappropriate conditions in either the N100 or the P600 component. This provides further evidence that the pitch perception deficits associated with amusia may also affect intonation processing during speech comprehension in those who speak a tonal language such as Mandarin, and suggests music and language share some cognitive and neural resources.     

Absolute pitch: an approach for identification of genetic and nongenetic components.

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to recognize a pitch, without an external reference. By surveying more than 600 musicians in music conservatories, training programs, and orchestras, we have attempted to dissect the influences of early musical training and genetics on the development of this ability. Early musical training appears to be necessary but not sufficient for the development of AP. Forty percent of musicians who had begun training at <=4 years of age reported AP, whereas only 3% of those who had initiated training at >=9 years of age did so. Self-reported AP possessors were four times more likely to report another AP possessor in their families than were non-AP possessors. These data suggest that both early musical training and genetic predisposition are needed for the development of AP. We developed a simple computer-based acoustical test that has allowed us to subdivide AP possessors into distinct groups, on the basis of their performance. Investigation of individuals who performed extremely well on this test has already led us to identify several families that will be suitable for studies of the genetic basis of AP.