Featured Publications
Acoustic regularities in infant-directed speech and song across cultures
Hilton C, Moser C, Bertolo M, Lee-Rubin H, Amir D, Bainbridge C, Simson J, Knox D, Glowacki L, Alemu E, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G, Ross C, Neff M, Martin A, Cirelli L, Trehub S, Song J, Kim M, Schachner A, Vardy T, Atkinson Q, Salenius A, Andelin J, Antfolk J, Madhivanan P, Siddaiah A, Placek C, Salali G, Keestra S, Singh M, Collins S, Patton J, Scaff C, Stieglitz J, Cutipa S, Moya C, Sagar R, Anyawire M, Mabulla A, Wood B, Krasnow M, Mehr S. Acoustic regularities in infant-directed speech and song across cultures. Nature Human Behaviour 2022, 6: 1545-1556. PMID: 35851843, PMCID: PMC10101735, DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01410-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAcoustic featuresAdult-directed speechInfant-directed speechEnglish language websitesRecordings of infantsLinguistic relatednessAcoustic regularitiesListeners' sensitivityHuman communicationPsychological functionsAcoustic differencesSmall-scale societiesSongsSpeechAcoustic profilesCultureVocalizationsCommunicationLanguagePeopleListenersVocalizerMusicSocietyCommon set
2024
Spectro-temporal acoustical markers differentiate speech from song across cultures
Albouy P, Mehr S, Hoyer R, Ginzburg J, Du Y, Zatorre R. Spectro-temporal acoustical markers differentiate speech from song across cultures. Nature Communications 2024, 15: 4835. PMID: 38844457, PMCID: PMC11156671, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49040-3.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2013
Two Randomized Trials Provide No Consistent Evidence for Nonmusical Cognitive Benefits of Brief Preschool Music Enrichment
Mehr S, Schachner A, Katz R, Spelke E. Two Randomized Trials Provide No Consistent Evidence for Nonmusical Cognitive Benefits of Brief Preschool Music Enrichment. PLOS ONE 2013, 8: e82007. PMID: 24349171, PMCID: PMC3859544, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVisual arts classesMusic classesArt classesCognitive developmentCognitive effectsEarly music educationVisual form analysisChildren's cognitive developmentSpatial navigational abilityMusic educationMusic instructionMusic lessonsMusical activitiesVisual artsMusic trainingArt activitiesMusical trainingTreatment controlArts instructionWeeks of classesReceptive vocabularyChildren's cognitionCognitive areasCognitive benefitsNumerical discrimination