Previous studies have reported the effects of absolute pitch (AP) and musical proficiency on the functioning of specific brain regions or distinct subnetworks, but they provided an incomplete account of effects of AP and musical proficiency on whole-brain networks. In this study, we used EEG to estimate source-space whole-brain functional connectivity in a large sample comprising AP musicians (n = 46), relative pitch (RP) musicians (n = 45), and Non-musicians (n = 34) during resting state, naturalistic music listening, and audiobook listening. First, we assessed the global network density of the participants' functional networks in these conditions. As revealed by cluster-based permutation testing, AP musicians showed a decreased mean degree compared to Non-musicians whereas RP musicians showed an intermediate mean degree not statistically different from Non-musicians or AP-musicians. This effect was present during naturalistic music and audiobook listening, but, crucially, not during resting state. Second, we identified subnetworks that drive group differences in global network density using the network-based statistic approach. We found that AP musicians showed decreased functional connectivity in major hubs of the default mode network during both music and audiobook listening compared to Non-musicians. Third, we assessed group differences in global network topology while controlling for network density. We did not find evidence for group differences in the clustering coefficient and characteristic path length. Taken together, we found first evidence of diminished whole-brain functional networks in AP musicians during the perception of naturalistic auditory stimuli. These differences might reflect a complex interplay between AP ability, musical proficiency, music processing, and auditory processing per se.

中文翻译：

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在自然主义音乐和有声读物的感知过程中，绝对音高的大规模功能性大脑网络减少

以前的研究报告了绝对音高 (AP) 和音乐熟练程度对特定大脑区域或不同子网络功能的影响，但它们提供了对 AP 和音乐熟练程度对全脑网络的影响的不完整说明。在这项研究中，我们使用 EEG 来估计包含 AP 音乐家 (n = 46)、相对音高 (RP) 音乐家 (n = 45) 和非音乐家 (n = 34) 的大型样本中的源空间全脑功能连接) 在休息状态、自然主义音乐聆听和有声读物聆听期间。首先，我们评估了这些条件下参与者功能网络的全局网络密度。正如基于集群的排列测试所揭示的那样，与非音乐家相比，AP 音乐家的平均学历水平有所下降，而 RP 音乐家的平均学历与非音乐家或 AP 音乐家相比没有统计学差异。这种效果在自然主义音乐和有声读物聆听中存在，但至关重要的是，在休息状态下不存在。其次，我们使用基于网络的统计方法确定了驱动全球网络密度组差异的子网络。我们发现，与非音乐人相比，AP 音乐人在收听音乐和有声读物期间在默认模式网络的主要枢纽中表现出的功能连接性降低。第三，我们在控制网络密度的同时评估了全球网络拓扑中的组差异。我们没有发现聚类系数和特征路径长度存在组差异的证据。综合起来，我们发现了 AP 音乐家在感知自然听觉刺激期间全脑功能网络减弱的第一个证据。这些差异可能反映了 AP 能力、音乐熟练程度、音乐处理和听觉处理本身之间复杂的相互作用。