Fractionating the Musical Mind: Insights From Congenital Amusia
Lead Research Organisation:
Goldsmiths University of London
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Lauren Stewart (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Anderson S
(2012)
Is there potential for learning in amusia? A study of the effect of singing intervention in congenital amusia.
in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Fang Liu (Author)
(2010)
Intonation perception abilities in congenital amusia
Fang Liu (Author)
(2010)
Intonational identi_cation-imitation dissociation in congenital amusia
Fang Liu (Speaker)
(2009)
Congenital amusia is not a music-specific disorder : evidence from speech perception
Hallam, Susan; Cross, Ian; Thaut, Michael
(2011)
Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology
Jacques Launay (Author)
(2009)
Congenital amusia : is there a group with specific rhythm impairments?
Klemm WR
(2010)
Free will debates: Simple experiments are not so simple.
in Advances in cognitive psychology
Lauren Stewart (Author)
(2009)
Lost in music
in Psychologist
Lauren Stewart (Author)
(2011)
Congenital amusia : is there potential for learning?
Lauren Stewart (Author)
(2010)
When all songs sound the same : investigations into congenital amusia
| Description | The ability to make sense of musical sound has been observed in every culture since the beginning of recorded history. But a few percent of the population fail to develop the ability to make sense of music. Individuals with congenital amusia (CA) cannot recognize familiar tunes, tell one tune from another and avoid social situations in which music plays a role. Our research aimed to characterize CA in terms of its perceptual and cognitive profile. We showed that the disorder cannot be explained solely in terms of an insensitivity to pitch change. Rather, we showed that many individuals with CA have difficulty in discriminating the direction of a pitch change - a likely prerequesite for the representation of musical contour. We highlight a difficulty not only perceiving but also retaining pitch information. We also show that CA is associated with a difficulty in processing timbre: individuals have difficulty in retaining this information in memory, and using it to group similar musical sounds. While individuals with CA rarely complain of difficulties with the speech intonation, we demonstrate that they do show intonation processing deficits when pitch contours are subtle. Finally, we show that many individuals with CA do not engage with or appreciate music to the same extent as typical listeners. Interestingly, however, one third of the CA group were indistinguishable from controls in this regard, suggesting that intact perception is not always a prerequisite for the enjoyment of music. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings may suggest fruitful lines of enquiry into the cognitive and neural basis of amusia, building on the research we have undertaken |
| Sectors | Education Healthcare Leisure Activities including Sports Recreation and Tourism |
| Description | Academic Impact: The research conducted on the grant has resulted in thirteen publications in international peer reviewed journals, two book chapters, numerous presentations at national and international conferences in various disciplines and an invitation to speak at the House of Lords as part of a meeting on the topic of music education. In addition, I was awarded the Experimental Psychology Society Prize in 2009 for my work in this field, which involved the delivery of a prize lecture at the 2009 summer meeting (York). The research group has amassed the world's largest database of individuals with congenital amusia, and many of the individuals have completed multiple tests of perceptual and cognitive function. This database of research will be made freely available to future researchers wishing to work in this area. Public Impact: The grant research has been presented at numerous diverse public engagement events including talks at secondary schools (Two presentations at the Oxford International Biomedical Centre School Symposium, 2011; 2012), lectures at public scientific meetings (Café Scientifique; Lates at the Science Museum) and discussions at leading music events (Music and brain workshop at the Royal Opera House; Aldeburgh Festival). In addition, I was invited to speak at an All Party Parliamentary Group meeting at the House of Lords, in the context of policy discussions relating to music education. The subject of the grant has also been covered extensively in traditional and online media (BBC 1series, Imagine: Tales of Music and the Brain; BBC Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014641m). The online assessment tool for congenital amusia, developed as part of the present grant, has now been taken by close to 180,000 people (http://www.delosis.com/listening/home.html). Our research group maintains a regular email contact service for anyone who requires personal advice or further information after having taken the online test. Amusia community: The grant has established a community of individuals with have been diagnosed with congenital amusia. All the participants are provided with regular updates on published work related to their condition as well as online summaries for ease of access (http://www.gold.ac.uk/music-mind-brain/amusia/memoryproject/). As part of the project, individuals with amusia were also offered professional singing training to aid with vocal production and confidence. All participants responded to these classes with extremely positive feedback. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to the Audio-Engineering Society |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited Lecture, MRC Institute of Hearing Research, Nottingham |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited Lecture, Department of Psychology, Birkbeck University of London |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited Lecture, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, the Netherlands |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture as part of University of Oxford Music Department seminar series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk generated discussion and questions N/A |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture, Royal Hospital for Neurodisability, Putney |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited Lecture to 'Complexity and Networks' group, Imperial College London |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congenital amusia : when all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited Lecture, Center for Functionally Integrated Neuroscience, Aarhus, Denmark |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Congential amusia in a large Irish family |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Featured in an episode of Imagine on 'Oliver Sacks: Tales Of Music And The Brain', presented by Alan Yentob |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |
| Description | How musical are you? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk given at Newcastle Science Festival Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Music and memory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at Music and Brain Workshop, Royal Opera House |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | |
| Description | Music and the brain 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited to give the 2010 Hesse Lecture as part of the Aldeburgh Festival |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Music and the mind |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented as part of the 'Lates' series at the Science Museum Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| URL | http://www.doc.gold.ac.uk/~mas03dm/papers/ScienceMuseum_LATES_2010.pdf |
| Description | Music learning and plasticity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | An oral presentation given to the All Party Parliamentary group on Scientific Research in Learning and Education Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.futuremind.ox.ac.uk/impact/parliamentary.html (see section 'The Musical Brain: Implicatio... |
| Description | Music of the hemispheres |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture for school children |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Music of the hemispheres |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk as part of Music and the Brain symposium, Oxford International Biomedical Centre |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Music of the hemispheres |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to University of the Third Age, Farringdon Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | The hymn of the mind |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Cafe Scientifique Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | The musical mind : insights from congenital amusia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture for school children |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | The musical mind : insights from congenital amusia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at Oxford International Biomedical Centre meeting, Midsomer Norton, Bath Programme notes |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | The musical mind as revealed through congenital amusia (tone deafness) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | CenSes Seminar |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | |
| Description | What our brain does with music, and why some people (with amusia) just don't get it |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk at Making noise, Cafe Scientifique http://www.thehorsehospital.com/past/live-past/caf-scientifique/ Section not completed |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| URL | http://www.thehorsehospital.com/past/live-past/caf-scientifique/ |
| Description | When all the songs sound the same |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Primary Audience | |
| Results and Impact | Invited lecture to the British Psychological Society, London series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |