Temporal order perception of auditory stimuli is selectively modified by tonal and non-tonal language environments

The close relationship between temporal perception and speech processing is well established. The present study focused on the specific question whether the speech environment could influence temporal order perception in subjects whose language backgrounds are distinctively different, i.e., Chinese (tonal language) vs. Polish (non-tonal language). Temporal order thresholds were measured for both monaurally presented clicks and binaurally presented tone pairs. Whereas the click experiment showed similar order thresholds for the two language groups, the experiment with tone pairs resulted in different observations: while Chinese demonstrated better performance in discriminating the temporal order of two "close frequency" tone pairs (600 Hz and 1200 Hz), Polish subjects showed a reversed pattern, i.e., better performance for "distant frequency" tone pairs (400 Hz and 3000 Hz). These results indicate on the one hand a common temporal mechanism for perceiving the order of two monaurally presented stimuli, and on the other hand neuronal plasticity for perceiving the order of frequency-related auditory stimuli. We conclude that the auditory brain is modified with respect to temporal processing by long-term exposure to a tonal or a non-tonal language. As a consequence of such an exposure different cognitive modes of operation (analytic vs. holistic) are selected: the analytic mode is adopted for "distant frequency" tone pairs in Chinese and for "close frequency" tone pairs in Polish subjects, whereas the holistic mode is selected for "close frequency" tone pairs in Chinese and for "distant frequency" tone pairs in Polish subjects, reflecting a double dissociation of function.

[1]  I. Kolodziejczyk,et al.  Auditory perception of temporal order in centenarians in comparison with young and elderly subjects. , 2008, Acta neurobiologiae experimentalis.

[2]  R. C. Oldfield.  The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. , 1971, Neuropsychologia.

[3]  A. Krishnan,et al.  The effects of tone language experience on pitch processing in the brainstem , 2010, Journal of Neurolinguistics.

[4]  R. C. Oldfield.  THE ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS OF HANDEDNESS , 1971 .

[5]  H. Ackermann,et al.  Temporal processing capabilities in repetition conduction aphasia , 2010, Brain and Cognition.

[6]  Steven L. Miller,et al.  Language learning impairments: integrating basic science, technology, and remediation , 1998, Experimental Brain Research.

[7]  E. Pöppel,et al.  Individual differences in the perception of temporal order: The effect of age and cognition , 2009, Cognitive neuropsychology.

[8]  Ernst Pöppel,et al.  Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[9]  M. Wittmann,et al.  Assessment of auditory temporal-order thresholds - a comparison of different measurement procedures and the influences of age and gender. , 2005, Restorative neurology and neuroscience.

[10]  Ernst Pöppel,et al.  Daily Rhythm of Temporal Resolution in the Auditory System , 1999, Cortex.

[11]  N. Logothetis,et al.  Neuronal oscillations in the human brain , 1986, Die Naturwissenschaften.

[12]  S. Makeig,et al.  A 40-Hz auditory potential recorded from the human scalp. , 1981, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  I. Hirsh,et al.  Perceived order in different sense modalities. , 1961, Journal of experimental psychology.

[14]  André Brechmann,et al.  Hemispheric shifts of sound representation in auditory cortex with conceptual listening. , 2005, Cerebral cortex.

[15]  Stimulus-dependent oscillatory activity in the lateral geniculate body of the cat , 1992, Naturwissenschaften.

[16]  B Treutwein,et al.  YAAP: yet another adaptive procedure. , 1997, Spatial vision.

[17]  Harvey Babkoff,et al.  Deficits in temporal-order judgments in dyslexia: evidence from diotic stimuli differing spectrally and from dichotic stimuli differing only by perceived location , 2005, Neuropsychologia.

[18]  B. Treutwein.  Adaptive psychophysical procedures , 1995, Vision Research.

[19]  E. Pöppel,et al.  Excitability cycles in central intermittency , 1970, Psychologische Forschung.

[20]  Ernst Pöppel,et al.  Temporal processing disorders in patients with Broca's aphasia , 1997, Neuroscience Letters.

[21]  M. Wittmann,et al.  Sex Differences in Perception of Temporal Order , 2003, Perceptual and motor skills.

[22]  M. Wittmann,et al.  Time and language--critical remarks on diagnosis and training methods of temporal-order judgment. , 2004, Acta neurobiologiae experimentalis.

[23]  Yan Bao,et al.  Two spatially separated attention systems in the visual field: evidence from inhibition of return , 2007, Cognitive Processing.

[24]  F A Wichmann,et al.  Ning for Helpful Comments and Suggestions. This Paper Benefited Con- Siderably from Conscientious Peer Review, and We Thank Our Reviewers the Psychometric Function: I. Fitting, Sampling, and Goodness of Fit , 2001 .

[25]  David Poeppel,et al.  The perception of FM sweeps by Chinese and English listeners , 2007, Hearing Research.

[26]  S. S. Stevens,et al.  Critical Band Width in Loudness Summation , 1957 .

[27]  M. Merzenich,et al.  Cortical plasticity and memory , 1993, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[28]  E. Pöppel,et al.  A hierarchical model of temporal perception , 1997, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[29]  E. Pöppel,et al.  Auditory evoked potentials indicate the loss of neuronal oscillations during general anaesthesia , 2004, Naturwissenschaften.

[30]  E. Pöppel,et al.  Temporal processing as a base for language universals: cross-linguistic comparisons on sequencing abilities with some implications for language therapy. , 2011, Restorative neurology and neuroscience.

[31]  Steven L. Miller,et al.  Language Comprehension in Language-Learning Impaired Children Improved with Acoustically Modified Speech , 1996, Science.

[32]  E. Kaan,et al.  Effects of native language and training on lexical tone perception: An event-related potential study , 2007, Brain Research.

[33]  J. Gabrieli,et al.  Neural correlates of rapid auditory processing are disrupted in children with developmental dyslexia and ameliorated with training: an fMRI study. , 2007, Restorative neurology and neuroscience.

[34]  Alexander A. Fingelkurts,et al.  Timing in cognition and EEG brain dynamics: discreteness versus continuity , 2006, Cognitive Processing.

[35]  Ernst Pöppel,et al.  Sensory integration within temporally neutral systems states: A hypothesis , 1990, Naturwissenschaften.

[36]  Udo Rauchfleisch,et al.  5.4 Hamburg-Wechsler Intelligenztest für Erwachsene, Revision 1991 (Tewes, 1994) , 2001 .

[37]  M. Wittmann,et al.  Perception of Temporal Order: The Effects of Age, Sex, and Cognitive Factors , 2009, Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition.

[38]  Biao Tian,et al.  Processing of frequency-modulated sounds in the lateral auditory belt cortex of the rhesus monkey. , 2004, Journal of neurophysiology.

[39]  Ernst Pöppel,et al.  Three bands of oscillatory activity in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat visual system , 2004, Neuroscience Letters.

[40]  H Strasburger,et al.  Invariance of the psychometric function for character recognition across the visual field , 2001, Perception & psychophysics.

[41]  T. Radil,et al.  Stimulus anticipation in following rhythmic acoustical patterns by tapping , 1990, Experientia.

[42]  J. Churan,et al.  Stimulus-dependent processing of temporal order , 2006, Behavioural Processes.

[43]  J. Wouters,et al.  Impairments in speech and nonspeech sound categorization in children with dyslexia are driven by temporal processing difficulties. , 2011, Research in developmental disabilities.

[44]  E. Szelag,et al.  Auditory perception of temporal order in humans: The effect of age, gender, listener practice and stimulus presentation mode , 2006, Neuroscience Letters.

[45]  Marc Wittmann,et al.  Measurement of temporal-order judgment in children. , 2004, Acta neurobiologiae experimentalis.