Differences in Speech-on-Speech Processing Between Musicians and Non-Musicians: The Role of Durational Cues

In the current study, we investigate the role of prosodic cues in speech-on-speech perception in musicians and non-musicians. Earlier studies have shown that musically experienced listeners may have an advantage in speech-on-speech performance in behavioral tasks (1,2). Previously, we have also shown in an eye-tracking study that musical experience has an effect on the timing of resolution of lexical competition when processing quiet vs masked speech (3). In particular, musicians were faster in lexical decision-making when a two-talker masker was added to target speech. However, the source of the difference observed between groups remained unclear. In the current study, by employing a visual world paradigm, we aim to clarify whether musicians make use of durational cues that contribute to prosodic boundaries in Dutch, in resolving lexical competition when processing quiet vs two-talker masked speech. If musical training preserves listeners' sensitivity to the acoustic correlates of prosodic boundaries when processing masked speech, we expect to observe more lexical competition and delayed lexical resolution in musicians. We will compare gaze-tracking and pupil data of both groups across conditions.