Music and Linguistic Semantic Anomalies: An ERP Study of Integration and Expectancy on Predictive Processing of Harmonic Music During A Self-Paced Reading Task

Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Elizabeth Schotter, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ruthann Atchley, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Mark Pezzo, Ph.D.

Keywords

EEG, Music and Language, N400, Neuroscience

Abstract

Music, like language, is widely known to communicate emotional meaning. Yet, much debate is still on whether musical information uses shared neural resources similar to language. Past experiments using only Reaction Time (RT) measures have found that when syntactic complexities in language coincide with harmonic music violations, enhanced processing difficulties suggest shared neurocognitive resources. However, researchers failed to find similar interactions in semantic word conditions. This experiment examined event-related potentials (ERPs) to index word recognition processes related to semantic expectancy generation (N400) and integration (LPC & FP) in musicians and nonmusicians. Unlike RT measures, ERP components allow us to understand what cognitive processes are affected by experimental manipulation. Participants (28 musicians, 25 nonmusicians) performed a self-paced reading task where target words accompany musical chords in a 3 (word: expected, unexpected, anomalous) by 2 (music: in-key, out-of-key) within-subject factorial design. Results show significant N400 effects for word expectancy and integration in language stimuli, with no sensitivity to music violations. The LPC was sensitive to harmonic music violations but not implausible semantic violations, possibly due to task demands and LPC amplification. The FP component played a unique role in processing plausible but unexpected words in language, showing domain overlap between music and language processing for integration processing. Overall, the study highlights the complex interactions between music and language processing, emphasizing the need to consider domain-specific and shared cognitive resources in interdisciplinary research.

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