Abstract
Music and language engage similar cognitive processes within the brain, and both are rule-governed, hierarchical structures. Musical expertise improves auditory and motor processes in the brain, but language capacity is not modulated by musical expertise. In event-related potential (ERP) studies, the P600 ERP component is considered an indicator for the processing of syntactic incongruities in sentences. The P600 has also been found during the processing of incongruent chord progressions in musicians. The current study investigated the extent that the P600 from musicians and non-musicians can be compared during musical and linguistic processing of syntactically incorrect stimuli, and what behavioral differences there are between the two groups. Participants were grouped using the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Test (Gold-MSI) which subjectively measured participants’ relationship with music, and the Musical Ear Test (MET), an objective, perceptual measure of musicianship using melodic and rhythmic phrases. Musicians, as classified based on their scores on the Gold-MSI, performed significantly better on the MET than non-musicians. Participants listened to sentences that were either grammatically correct or incorrect, as well as consonant or dissonant musical phrases. Behavioral results showed that musicians outperformed non-musicians during music perception tasks but showed similar performance in language processing tasks. The P600 for all stimuli replicated previous findings of more positive P600 amplitudes for syntactically incorrect stimuli as compared to syntactically correct stimuli in both participant groups. However, the P600 for musical stimuli did not vary between musicians and non-musicians when listening to dissonant phrases compared to consonant phrases. These results further confirm differences between musicians and non-musicians behaviorally but potentially indicate more similarities in musical processing within all humans than previously considered.
Advisor
Herzmann, Grit
Department
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Reinicke, Hannah R., "Deceptive Cadences: Investigation of the P600 in Sentences and Musical Phrases Within Musicians and Non-musicians" (2026). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 13174.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/13174
Disciplines
Cognition and Perception | Cognitive Neuroscience | Cognitive Science | Music | Other Music | Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics | Psychology | Syntax
Publication Date
2026
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2026 Hannah R. Reinicke