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Research Article

Beat synchronization predicts neural speech encoding and reading readiness in preschoolers

Kali Woodruff Carr, Travis White-Schwoch, Adam T. Tierney, Dana L. Strait, and Nina Kraus
  1. aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
  2. Departments of bCommunication Sciences,
  3. cNeurobiology and Physiology, and
  4. dOtolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208

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PNAS October 7, 2014 111 (40) 14559-14564; first published September 22, 2014; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1406219111
Kali Woodruff Carr
aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
Departments of bCommunication Sciences,
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Travis White-Schwoch
aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
Departments of bCommunication Sciences,
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Adam T. Tierney
aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
Departments of bCommunication Sciences,
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Dana L. Strait
aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
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Nina Kraus
aAuditory Neuroscience Laboratory and
Departments of bCommunication Sciences,
cNeurobiology and Physiology, and
dOtolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
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  • For correspondence: nkraus@northwestern.edu
  1. Edited* by Michael Merzenich, Brain Plasticity Institute, San Francisco, CA, and approved August 21, 2014 (received for review April 3, 2014)

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Significance

Sensitivity to fine timing cues in speech is thought to play a key role in language learning, facilitating the development of phonological processing. In fact, a link between beat synchronization, which requires fine auditory–motor synchrony, and language skills has been found in school-aged children, as well as adults. Here, we show this relationship between beat entrainment and language metrics in preschoolers and use beat synchronization ability to predict the precision of neural encoding of speech syllables in these emergent readers. By establishing links between beat keeping, neural precision, and reading readiness, our results provide an integrated framework that offers insights into the preparative biology of reading.

Abstract

Temporal cues are important for discerning word boundaries and syllable segments in speech; their perception facilitates language acquisition and development. Beat synchronization and neural encoding of speech reflect precision in processing temporal cues and have been linked to reading skills. In poor readers, diminished neural precision may contribute to rhythmic and phonological deficits. Here we establish links between beat synchronization and speech processing in children who have not yet begun to read: preschoolers who can entrain to an external beat have more faithful neural encoding of temporal modulations in speech and score higher on tests of early language skills. In summary, we propose precise neural encoding of temporal modulations as a key mechanism underlying reading acquisition. Because beat synchronization abilities emerge at an early age, these findings may inform strategies for early detection of and intervention for language-based learning disabilities.

  • auditory processing
  • temporal processing
  • rhythm
  • cABR
  • speech envelope

Footnotes

  • ↵1Present address: Neural Systems Laboratory, Institute for Systems Research, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.

  • ↵2To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: nkraus{at}northwestern.edu.
  • Author contributions: T.W.-S., D.L.S., and N.K. designed research; K.W.C. performed research; A.T.T. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; K.W.C. and T.W.-S. analyzed data; and K.W.C., T.W.-S., A.T.T., D.L.S., and N.K. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • ↵*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1406219111/-/DCSupplemental.

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Neurobiology of preschool beat synchronization
Kali Woodruff Carr, Travis White-Schwoch, Adam T. Tierney, Dana L. Strait, Nina Kraus
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2014, 111 (40) 14559-14564; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1406219111

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Neurobiology of preschool beat synchronization
Kali Woodruff Carr, Travis White-Schwoch, Adam T. Tierney, Dana L. Strait, Nina Kraus
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2014, 111 (40) 14559-14564; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1406219111
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 111 (40)
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