Experience-dependent neural plasticity is sensitive to shape of pitch contours

Language experience is known to modulate the preattentive processing of linguistically relevant pitch contourswhen presented in the speech domain. To assess if experience-dependent e¡ects are speci¢c to speech, we evaluated the mismatch negativity re-sponse to nonspeechhomologs (iteratedripplednoise) of such cur-vilinear pitch contours (Mandarin: Tone 1, ‘high level’; Tone 2, ‘high rising’) by Chinese and English listeners as well as to a pitch con-tour that was a linear approximation of Tone 2 (‘linear ascending ramp’). Mandarin speakers showed larger mismatch negativity re-sponses than English to the curvilinear pitch contours only.These results suggest that experience-dependent neural plasticity in early cortical processing of linguistically relevant pitch contours is sensitive to naturally occurringpitch dimensionsbutnot speci¢c to speech per se. NeuroReport18:1963^1967c 2007 Wolters Kluwe