绝对音高加工的认知神经机制

绝对音高(absolute pitch,AP)是一种比较罕见的音高加工能力,具有特殊的认知和神经机制。事件相关电位研究表明AP音乐家进行音高命名时,工作记忆参与较少但涉及多个认知策略。功能神经成像研究发现左侧额叶背侧后部和左侧颞叶平面对AP音乐家非常重要,而准AP音乐家(quasi-AP)的某些右侧脑区的参与则反映其增加的音高加工负荷和难度。结构神经成像研究发现AP音乐家具有特殊的灰质结构形态及白质连接。未来研究有待将AP能力进一步分为"具有相对音高能力"与"没有相对音高能力"两类并观察相应的认知神经机制,并通过影像基因组学来探索基因多态性对AP能力的影响,以及有必要观察以声调语言为母语的音乐家进行音高加工的神经机制。

The cognitive and neural mechanisms of absolute pitch

Absolute pitch (AP) is a rare ability to process music pitch;it also has the special cognitive and neural basis.The studies by event-related potentials showed that AP musicians use less working memory but with multiple cognitive strategies during AP processing.Functional neuroimaging studies showed that the left posterior dorsolateral frontal cortex and the left planum temporale are very important to AP musicians,but the involvements in some right cerebral regions indicate the increased load and difficulty during pitch processing in quasi-AP musicians.Structural neuroimaging studies showed the special morphometry of the left planum temporale as well as the white matter structure in AP musicians.Future research needs to further divide AP ability into "with relative pitch ability" and "without relative pitch ability" together with their cognitive and neural basis,and investigate the effect of gene polymorphism on AP ability through imaging genomics,and also necessarily examine the neural basis of pitch processing in the musicians with native tonal language.