Studies find connection between impaired musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders

(Press-News.org) In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery leveraged two main studies — one focused on behavior and one focused on genetics — to highlight the correlation between participants’ musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders. 

These disorders include developmental language disorder, dyslexia and stuttering, among others. 

Evidence showed that deficiency in musical rhythm perception is a “modest but consistent risk factor for developmental speech, language and reading disorders,” according to the study’s lead author, Srishti Nayak, PhD, assistant professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

“Studying the connection between musical rhythm ability and speech-language-related disorders was of interest to us because of the tremendous health and societal impacts those disorders can have,” said Nayak, who is also a co-director of the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab. “Particularly when looking at pediatric populations, identifying a person’s ability levels with musical rhythm allows care providers to design appropriate therapeutic interventions that can address many of the mental and physical health issues, educational difficulties and negative socioeconomic outcomes associated with developmental communication disorders.” 

The twin studies focused on behavior and genetics, respectively, and included cohorts at VUMC and several other institutions. 

In one study, researchers focused on behavioral manifestations of musical rhythm impairment, studying participants’ ability to perceive small rhythmic differences and synchronize movements to rhythms (such as tapping), as well as analyzing qualitative data from self-reported rhythm abilities. In line with their hypothesis, it was determined that weaker rhythm skills were associated with increased odds of clinical speech-language problems and disorders. Results indicated that stuttering was a notable exception to this association, and the researchers pointed out that individuals who stutter(ed) may have been exposed to rhythm-focused therapies that could improve rhythm abilities. 

Researchers may also rely on genetic information to develop an understanding of a participant’s rhythmic capabilities. A second study found that shared genetic architecture between rhythm and language traits explains some of the variability associated with language-related skills. Notably, genetics associated with rhythm predict reading scores, a behavioral measure, as well as genetics associated with reading itself. This suggests that reading skills draw upon biology shared with musical rhythm skills. 

“Understanding the link between musicality and communication skills and deficits helps us paint a better picture of the role of these two fundamental aspects of human cognition,” said Nayak. “It’s easy to take music, speech and reading for granted because of the fulfillment they bring us, but they’re all hard wired into our brains. Our research underscores that the links between them are both behavioral and genetic in nature.” 

Reyna Gordon, PhD, associate professor of Otolaryngology and co-director of the Music Cognition Lab, was the paper’s corresponding author. Other VUMC-affiliated researchers included Yasmina Mekki, PhD, senior statistical genetic analyst; Rachana Nitin, PhD, research fellow in the Division of Genetic Medicine; and Catherine T. Bush, CCC-SLP, speech language pathologist IV in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences. 

This research was supported by the National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health, under award numbers R01DC016977, R03DC021550, R21DC021276, R01DA059804 and P20GM1023. 

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