Neural Discrimination of Temporal Patterns—Associations to Dyslexia Risk, Language Abilities, and Music Activities

Developmental dyslexia is associated with deficient temporal auditory processing, which may play an important role in speech perception, language development, and subsequently, learning to read. Music activities may offer a way to support temporal auditory processing and language and reading development. We utilized change-related mismatch negativities (MMNs) of the electroencephalogram (EEG) to study the detection of temporal pattern violations in tone sequences in 28-month-olds, and its associations with dyslexia risk, language skills, and music activities. We also considered possible effects of two infant music-listening interventions. The MMN had diminished amplitudes in dyslexia risk compared to control children in the left hemisphere, and left-hemisphere dominance was only seen in the controls. Larger MMNs were associated with better language skills and higher amount of parent-reported shared music activities, but not with the infant music-listening interventions. The results demonstrate, in line with our hypotheses, deficient processing of temporal patterns in tone sequences in familial dyslexia-risk children. Together with the positive association with language skills, this supports the relevance of temporal auditory processing for language and reading development. The association of MMNs with the frequency of shared music activities at home suggests that active, joint music making might benefit temporal auditory processing.