Biology subjects

Klimovich-Gray, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Klimovich-Gray, A..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The interplay between cortical tracking and functional connectivity in musicians and non-musicians listening to speech and music

Musical expertise is associated with auditory processing advantages which can extend to the speech domain. However, the origins of such domain-general benefits remain unclear. Recent frameworks propose that better rhythm processing in musicians might be at the basis of the observed advantages in processing music and speech. Auditory cortical tracking and inter-regional interactions between auditory and motor areas have been proposed as key neural mechanisms. In this study, we asked whether expertise-related increase in cortical tracking would be elicited by naturalistic stimuli in clear listening conditions, and whether such effects would be related to audiomotor functional connectivity and individual rhythmic abilities. We compared MEG data from expert musicians and controls with no musical playing experience while they listened to two-minutes long stories and excerpts of piano music. We also collected behavioral data in a rhythmic task testing speech (syllable) production. We found that musicians showed enhanced tracking and enhanced functional connectivity in both speech and music conditions, as well as better rhythmic abilities relative to non-musicians. Alpha connectivity between the right auditory cortex and inferior frontal gyrus negatively predicted cortical tracking across all participants in the speech condition, while no relation was observed for music. We suggest that stronger cortical tracking in musicians is due to domain-general differences in auditory sensory processes and is not driven by motor influences in our experiment. Moreover, a trade-off between cortical tracking and inter-regional communication might be at the basis of optimal perception of speech in both musicians and non-musicians in clear listening conditions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Goals Drive Adaptive Analysis of Linguistic Features During Reading

Reading behaviour is sensitive to contextual demands. For example, when reading to study or answer questions, readers strategically allocate more attention to goal-relevant sections, read slower, and regress more frequently to extract specific information based on task demands. This suggests that readers flexibly adapt their strategies according to goals and situational constraints. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms supporting this flexibility remain unclear. To test this, we combined eye-tracking with EEG during naturalistic reading and examined how short-term reading goals modulated the neural tracking of hierarchical linguistic features at the orthographic (orthographic neighbourhood size), lexical (word frequency), and contextual-semantic (Surprisal) levels. Forty native English speakers read narratives in three goal conditions: Baseline (no goal), Proofreading (detect spelling errors), and Comprehension (attend to content). Fixation-aligned word-level EEG activity was modelled using multivariate temporal response function to estimate the strength of feature-specific neural tracking. Orthographic tracking was significantly enhanced during Proofreading relative to Baseline, and predicted better Proofreading accuracy. Conversely, stronger frequency tracking predicted better Comprehension accuracy. Contextual-semantic tracking was not modulated by task goal. These findings suggest that reading goals selectively bias neural processing towards linguistic features (sublexical vs. lexical) that support successful task performance, providing evidence for short-term functional plasticity in linguistic processing and supporting a flexible predictive processing account of goal-directed reading.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Benefits of Music Training for Learning to Read: Evidence from Cortical Tracking of Speech in Children

Musical training has long been argued to boost early phonological and reading abilities. Cortical tracking of speech (CTS) has been proposed as a mechanism for this music-to-literacy transfer. In this study, we examined how musical training shapes CTS in young readers and whether it facilitates literacy benefits. In a sample of 57 children aged 5-9, musical training was linked to enhanced reading and phonological awareness (PA). EEG during story listening revealed that higher left-hemispheric and lower right-hemispheric CTS were also associated with higher reading scores. However, children with higher musicality exhibited stronger reading skills at lower levels of left-hemispheric CTS, suggesting more adult-like speech analysis. Critically, PA mediated the relationship between musicality and reading: greater musicality was associated with stronger PA, which in turn predicted higher reading performance, independent of demographic and cognitive factors. These findings indicate that musical training supports literacy by enhancing PA and shaping left-lateralized speech processing.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Non-verbal skills in auditory word processing: Implications for typical and dyslexic readers

Dyslexia is characterized by poor phonological skills and atypical neural responses to text and speech stimuli, while non-verbal intelligence remains unaffected. However, the impact of non-verbal intelligence on language-evoked neural responses in dyslexia is underexplored. This study examines non-verbal intelligences effects on neural responses to auditory words in typical and dyslexic readers. Participants completed IQ tests, reading and phonological assessments, and underwent magnetoencephalography recordings while listening to words. Event-related brain field responses at different stages of auditory word processing (100ms, 200ms, 400ms) were analyzed in relation to non-verbal IQ scores and reading performance. Higher non-verbal IQ in typical readers yielded earlier right hemisphere perceptual responses (100ms). Dyslexic readers showed no IQ-related latency effects but those with lower non-verbal IQ displayed amplified left hemisphere response amplitudes at 100ms. These findings confirm the link between non-verbal cognitive abilities and early auditory word processing in adults, highlighting distinct effects in dyslexia and controls.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

The contribution of early language exposure to the cortical tracking of speech

Cortical tracking of speech is relevant for the development of speech perception skills. However, no study to date has explored whether and how cortical tracking of speech is shaped by accumulated language experience, the central question of this study. In 35 bilingual children (6 y.o.) with considerably bigger experience in one language, we collected electroencephalography data while they listened to continuous speech in their two languages. Cortical tracking of speech was assessed at acoustic-temporal and lexico-semantic levels. Children showed more robust acoustic-temporal tracking in the least experienced language, and more sensitive cortical tracking of semantic information in the most experienced language. Additionally, and only for the most experienced language, acoustic-temporal tracking was specifically linked to phonological abilities, and lexico-semantic tracking to vocabulary knowledge. Our results indicate that accumulated linguistic experience is a relevant maturational factor for the cortical tracking of speech at different levels during early language acquisition.

neuroscience↗