Large-scale multi-site study shows no association between musical training and early auditory neural sound encoding
Musical training has been reported to be associated with enhanced neural processing of sounds, as measured via the frequency following response (FFR), implying the potential for human subcortical neural plasticity. We conducted a large-scale multi-site preregistered study (n > 260) to replicate and extend the findings underpinning this important relationship. We failed to replicate any of the major findings selected for replication that were published previously in smaller studies. Musical training was not associated with enhanced neural encoding strength of a speech stimulus (/da/) in babble, whether measured via the spectral or temporal representations of the FFR. Similarly, the strength of neural tracking of a speech sound with a dynamic pitch trajectory was not related to either years of musical training or age of onset of musical training. Our findings provide no evidence for associations between early auditory neural responses and either musical training or musical ability.
Authors
- Kelly L. Whiteford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2627-1509)
- Stephen C. Van Hedger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2448-9088)
- Barbara Shinn‐Cunningham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5096-5914)
- B. Mesquita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8712-5249)
- Andrew J. Oxenham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9365-1157)
- Sung-Joo Lim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5856-3269)
- Audra Irvine
- Tyler K. Perrachione
- Hari Bharadwaj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8685-9630)
- Pui Yii Goh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3041-4376)
- Ross K. Maddox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2668-0238)
- Breanna Oakes
- Neha Rajappa
- Juraj Mesík (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1271-4740)
- Amy E. Schrlau
- Elin Roverud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2011-2566)
- Matt Chiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8186-7241)
- Gerald Kidd (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5862-1307)
- Ingrid S. Johnsrude (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7810-1333)
- Lucas S. Baltzell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7082-9960)
- Anna Hagedorn
- Anne E. Luebke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5651-0278)
- Vanessa C. Irsik
- Stefanie Faucher
- Elizabeth West Marvin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8910-8007)
- John K. Cooper
Institutions
- Boston University (US)
- Baldwin Wallace University (US)
- Binghamton University (US)
- Western University (CA)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Michigan Medicine (US)
- Eastman Chemical Company (United States) (US)
- University of Rochester (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-08-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62155-5
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 15.74
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Canada First Research Excellence Fund
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders