Abstract
Although reading ability has been related to the processing of simple pitch features such as isolated transitions or continuous modulation1,2,3, spoken language also contains complex patterns of pitch changes that are important for establishing stress location4 and for segmenting the speech stream5. These aspects of spoken language processing depend critically on pitch pattern (global structure) rather than on absolute pitch values (local structure)6,7. Here we show that the detection of global structure, and not local structure, is predictive of performance on measures of phonological skill and reading ability, which supports a critical importance of pitch contour processing in the acquisition of literacy.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tallal, P. Brain Lang. 9, 182–198 (1980).
France, S.J. et al. Percept. Psychophys. 64, 169–179 (2002).
Witton, C. et al. Curr. Biol. 8, 791–797 (1998).
Morton, J. & Jassem, W. Lang. Speech 8, 159–181 (1965).
Jusczyk, P.W. Trends Cogn. Sci. 3, 323–328 (1999).
Bolinger, D.L. Word 14, 109–149 (1958).
Gimson, A.C. Z. Phon. 9, 143 (1956).
Dowling, W.J. & Fujitani, D.S. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 49, 524–531 (1971).
Nelson, H.E. & Willison, J.R. National Adult Reading Test Manual 2nd edn. (NFER–Nelson, Windsor, UK, 1991).
Olson R., Forsberg, H., Wise, B. & Rack, J. in Frames of Reference for the Assessment of Learning Disabilities: New Views on Measurement Issues (ed. Lyon, G.R.) 243–277 (Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore, 1994).
Snowling, M.J. Psychol. Res. 43, 219–234 (1981).
Raven, J.C., Court, J.H. & Raven, J. Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales (H.K. Lewis & Co. Ltd., London, 1988).
Trehub, S.E., Bull, D. & Thorpe, L.A. Child Devel. 55, 821–830 (1984).
Trehub, S.E., Thorpe, L.A. & Morrongiello, B.A. Child Devel. 58, 741–749 (1987).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported entirely by the Wellcome Trust.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Foxton, J., Talcott, J., Witton, C. et al. Reading skills are related to global, but not local, acoustic pattern perception. Nat Neurosci 6, 343–344 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1035
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1035
This article is cited by
-
The role of cognitive flexibility and inhibition in complex dynamic tasks: the case of sight reading music
Current Psychology (2022)
-
Mandarin-speaking preschoolers’ pitch discrimination, prosodic and phonological awareness, and their relation to receptive vocabulary and reading abilities
Reading and Writing (2021)
-
The local perceptual bias of a non-remote and educated population
Psychological Research (2020)
-
Music-related abilities among readers with dyslexia
Annals of Dyslexia (2019)
-
Auditory processing, linguistic prosody awareness, and word reading in Mandarin-speaking children learning English
Reading and Writing (2017)
