Our brain is in charge of converting the impulses received by the ears into logical and understandable sounds. Likewise, the brain has the ability to discriminate or select those relevant sounds that are heard in the background, and it can even amplify the volume of our own voice. That is, this member acts as the great sound filter of humans .
It has been shown that the auditory system of the brain is exercised with exposure to different sound environments such as music training or native language .
At the University of Helsinki (Finland) they have focused on the interaction effects that these two environments have on central auditory processing, the one that allows the concordance between hearing level and hearing capacity. Therefore, in addition to detecting sound through the ear, we have to correctly process that sound information .
In research, the hearing abilities of people with different linguistic and musical backgrounds have been compared . The objective has been to detect discrimination thresholds in three modalities: intensity , frequency and duration . In these analyzes, a self-assessment questionnaire on musical sophistication was also used.
The results show the following: Finns show an advantage in the processing of auditory duration compared to German-speakers. Their musical experience has been associated with a greater capacity for frequency discrimination . The latter refers to the property that makes it possible to distinguish two sounds emitted simultaneously.
“We found that Finnish speakers show an advantage in brain stem duration processing, as opposed to German speakers. This may be because the Finnish language includes long and short sounds that determine the meaning of words. and this is perfect brain training. So Finnish speakers are very sensitive to the timing of sounds, “explains study author Caitlin Dawson .
Additionally, musicians who speak Mandarin showed better behavioral discrimination , both in frequency and duration. As with the Finnish example, the Mandarin Chinese language has tones that also determine the meaning of words.
Dawson adds that “the perceptual effects of musical expertise (ability or experience) were not reflected in brainstem responses in Finnish or Mandarin speakers. This could be because language is an earlier and more essential skill than music. , and native speakers are experts in their own language. “
The results suggest that the musical experience does not improve all hearing characteristics equally for all language speakers . The phonological patterns of the native language can modulate the symptoms of improvement of the musical experience in the processing of specific characteristics.
Reference: ” Effects of linguistic and musical expertise on early auditory processing – Electrophysiological and behavioral evidence “. Helsinki University (Finland)
