According to emerging evidence, rhythmic processing (e.g., beat synchronization) plays a critical role in phonological encoding and decoding; to the extreme, deficits in the former processing manifest as dyslexia and the latter as stuttering. In a recent fMRI-genetic study, we demonstrated that both behavioral and neural differences in rhythm/timing processing were influenced by a DRD2 polymorphism (Wiener, Lee, Lohoff, & Coslett, 2014). A similar fMRI-genetic study revealed that DRD2 polymorphism caused poor grammar sequence learning and reduced activity in the basal ganglia (Wong, Ettlinger, & Zheng, 2013). Here, we will first establish direct relations between music and speech/language processes within the same individuals prior to fMRI-genetic studies.
Moritz, M., Heard, M., Kim, H.-W., & Lee, Y.-S. (2020). Invariance of Edit-Distance to Tempo in Rhythm Similarity. Psychology of Music. Uncorrected proof here. Heard, M., & Lee, Y.-S. (2020). Shared neural resources of rhythm and syntax: An ALE Meta-Analysis. Neuropsychologia, 107284. Wiener, M., Lee, Y.-S., Lohoff, F. W., & Coslett, H. B. (2014). Individual differences in the morphometry and activation of time perception networks are influenced by dopamine genotype. NeuroImage, 89, 10–22.
This interdisciplinary research program aims to bridge the gap between rehabilitation and neuroscience by elucidating a hitherto unknown neural mechanism, i.e., compensatory brain plasticity leading to speech and language recovery following therapy with state-of-the-art neuroimaging and video game technology.
Lee, Y.-S., Zreik, J. T., & Hamilton, R. H. (2017). Patterns of neural activity predict picture-naming performance of a patient with chronic aphasia. Neuropsychologia, 94, 52-60.
Chronic Brain Injury Pilot Award Program (Ohio State)
National Science Foundation Grant
NIH R21 (funded)
NIH Small Business Innovation Research
Successful academic activities of school-age children rely on efficient speech and language processing. Although 10-15% of children are diagnosed with some type of speech/language disorder (dyslexia, specific language impairment, etc.), there are likely many children with speech/language deficiencies that are on the borderline of the pathologic range or are within it but lack the diagnostic resources to identify such deficits. Through community partnerships with the Columbus City Schools, we aim to 1) offer brain-based diagnostic opportunities to these children vulnerable to academic failure in the Ohio school system, 2) provide them with music-based intervention programs that will promote brain regions mediating overlapping processes between music and language, and 3) establish neural foundations of brain plasticity following behavioral improvement with a state-of-the-art portable neuroimaging device (i.e., functional near-infrared spectroscopy, fNIRS). This project will constitute the first step towards making a valuable contribution to the Ohio education community, as well as to the neuroscience research field.
Lee, Y.-S., Ahn, S, Holt, R. F., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2020). Rhythm and Syntax Processing in School-Age Children. Developmental Psychology, 56(9), 1632-1641.
Shimadzu Equipment Grants for Education & Research
OSU Social and Behavioral Sciences Small Grant