From amusia to dyslexia: the role of feedback

大多数成年人都知道自己唱歌跑调了。非音乐家则不然，他们不知道自己是如何歌唱的。如果音乐家不能区分合调和走调，他们怎么能学习呢？反馈在学习中的作用是本研究建议的重点。我的长期目标是开发一个认知学习障碍的神经生物学模型。我和我的学员将继续研究学习障碍，如失读症和阅读障碍，因为它们提供了关于复杂系统学习的最佳证据来源之一。这种方法的逻辑是一种逆向工程，即行为崩溃模式与精确的神经成像技术相结合，可以揭示音乐和语言大脑的内部工作。 根据我最近的研究，我提出听觉皮层和额叶皮层之间不可靠的反馈回路是先天性失乐症学习缺陷的原因[Peretz，2016，附件]，其中研究最多的形式是音高耳聋，影响1%至4%的人口的细粒度音高处理。节拍性耳聋是最近发现的一种形式，它会影响对时间的微调。还有大量证据表明，节拍处理在阅读障碍中受损，可能代表从听觉到额叶区域的自下而上的连接受损。我计划在这些学习障碍中结合联合收割机脑电图（EEG）和在线反馈，以便在纠错的行为效应和障碍的大脑特征之间建立因果关系。 本研究探讨了三个关键问题：1）在没有额叶反馈的情况下，听觉皮层捕获的音乐知识是什么？音调知识的内容将探讨通过一个新的歌唱即兴任务在失音乐症的成年人和3至4岁的正常幼儿，谁也获得了有限的反馈内隐音乐知识。 2)纠错能缓解音乐障碍吗？Amusic的成年人在检测旋律中的异常音高时会收到在线反馈，同时学习如何在键盘上演奏它们。 3)反馈可以微调节拍耳聋和诵读困难的时间吗？为了回答这个问题，我们首先需要获得新的神经标记的计时机制。为了达到这一目的，我们将使用时钟错觉来记录节拍失聪和诵读困难患者的大脑电反应，在这种错觉中，每隔一个节拍都会有一个主观的重音。 该研究项目主要基于音乐缺陷，提供了一个测试模型，以了解人类大脑如何有效地学习。在最佳时间提供足够的反馈可能是至关重要的，对大多数（如果不是所有）认知领域的学习具有广泛的影响。

Most adults know when they sing out-of-tune. Amusic individuals do not; they have no idea how they sing. If amusics cannot tell the difference between in-tune and out-of-tune, how could they ever learn? The role of feedback in learning is the focus of this research proposal. My long-term objective is to develop a neurobiologically-informed model of cognitive learning disorders. My trainees and I will continue to study learning disorders, such as amusia and dyslexia, because they provide one of the best sources of evidence regarding the learning of complex systems. The logic of this approach is one of reverse-engineering, whereby the behavioural breakdown patterns coupled with precise neuroimaging techniques can reveal the inner working of the musical and language brain. Based on my recent research, I have proposed that the unreliable feedback loop between the auditory cortex and the frontal cortex is the cause of the learning deficits in congenital amusia [Peretz, 2016, attached], of which the most studied form is pitch deafness that affects fine-grained pitch processing in 1 to 4% of the population. Beat deafness is a more recently discovered form and affects fine-tuning of timing. There is also substantial evidence that beat processing is impaired in dyslexia and likely represents impaired bottom-up connections from auditory to frontal regions. I plan to combine electroencephalography (EEG) and online feedback in these learning disorders, in order to establish a causal relationship between the behavioural effects of error correction and the brain signatures of the disorders. The proposed research examines three key questions: 1)What is the musical knowledge captured in the auditory cortex without frontal feedback? The content of tonal knowledge will be probed through a novel sung improvisation task in amusic adults and in 3-to-4-year-old normal toddlers, who also have acquired musical knowledge implicitly with limited feedback. 2)Can error correction alleviate musical disorders? Amusic adults will receive online feedback while detecting anomalous pitches in melodies and while learning how to play them on a keyboard over several sessions. 3)Can feedback fine-tune timing in beat deafness and in dyslexia? In order to answer this question, we first need to obtain novel neural markers of timekeeping mechanisms. To this aim, beat-deaf and dyslexic electric brain responses will be recorded using the clock illusion, in which a subjective accent is ascribed to every other beat. The research programme, based primarily on musical deficits, provides a test model of how the human brain learns effectively. The provision of adequate feedback at the optimal time may be vital, with wide-ranging implications for learning across most, if not all, cognitive domains.