The right inferior frontal gyrus processes nested non-local dependencies in music.

ABSTRACT: Complex auditory sequences known as music have often been described as hierarchically structured. This permits the existence of non-local dependencies, which relate elements of a sequence beyond their temporal sequential order. Previous studies in music have reported differential activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) when comparing regular and irregular chord-transitions based on theories in Western tonal harmony. However, it is unclear if the observed activity reflects the interpretation of hierarchical structure as the effects are confounded by local irregularity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we found that violations to non-local dependencies in nested sequences of three-tone musical motifs in musicians elicited increased activity in the right IFG. This is i

SUBMITTER: Cheung VKM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5830458 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature