Processing Syntactic Relations in Language and Music: An Event-Related Potential Study

TLDR

The study compared ERPs elicited by syntactic incongruities in language and music to test the language‑specificity of the P600 component. Sequences were constructed using phrase‑structure rules for language and harmony/key‑relatedness rules for music, varying congruity levels to elicit ERPs. Linguistic and musical incongruities produced indistinguishable positivities, yet a music‑specific ERP exhibited right‑hemisphere lateralization, arguing against the P600’s language‑specificity and supporting parallel study of language and music.

Abstract

Abstract In order to test the language-specificity of a known neural correlate of syntactic processing [the P600 event-related brain potential (ERP) component], this study directly compared ERPs elicited by syntactic incongruities in language and music. Using principles of phrase structure for language and principles of harmony and key-relatedness for music, sequences were constructed in which an element was either congruous, moderately incongruous, or highly incongruous with the preceding structural context. A within-subjects design using 15 musically educated adults revealed that linguistic and musical structural incongruities elicited positivities that were statistically indistinguishable in a specified latency range. In contrast, a music-specific ERP component was observed that showed antero-temporal right-hemisphere lateralization. The results argue against the language-specificity of the P600 and suggest that language and music can be studied in parallel to address questions of neural specificity in cognitive processing.