tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post2525583786908543902..comments2024-01-12T00:48:55.192-08:00Comments on Music and Brain Blog at University of Toronto: Autism and Pitch Processing: A Precursor for Savant Musical Ability?Lee Bartelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06727468225852676801noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-12099148201904689632014-11-30T14:45:49.295-08:002014-11-30T14:45:49.295-08:00Thank you for posting this topic on the blog. The ...Thank you for posting this topic on the blog. The field of “autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and music perception” is of great interest to me. I have been reading about autism and pitch perception for quite a while, and indeed the incidence of absolute pitch (AP) among individuals with autism is high. It is estimated to be 1 in 20, whereas the prevalence in the general population is 1 per 10.000 [1]. Furthermore, pitch perception in ASD exists especially in those individuals with a history of delayed speech onset, but the causal is yet unclear [2]. It is very interesting, isn´t it? <br />A significant contribution to this field has been made by Pamela Heaton. She has published several high quality studies. In the posted paper, she and her colleagues stated that “It should be stressed that absolute pitch is not a reliable marker for outstanding musical talent in normal populations, as many highly gifted musicians do not have this ability“ (p. 295). I would suggest you to overview another paper from Heaton, entitled “Do musicians with perfect pitch have more autism traits than musicians without perfect pitch? An empirical study”. In the former study the results indicated a significant higher degree of autism traits in APs musicians than in non APs musicians and non-musicians. In addition, autism scores were significantly correlated with pitch identification scores. It sounds quite surprising! It seems there are still more questions that need to be answered surrounding the field of “absolute pitch and autism” [3].<br /> [1] W. Brown, K. Cammuso, H. Sacks et al. “Autism – related language, personality and cognition in people with absolute pitch: results of a preliminary study”, Journal of Autism and developmental Disorders, 33 (2003), 163-167<br />[2] A. Bonnel, S. McAdams, B. Smith, C. Berthiaume, A. Bertone, V. Ciocca, J.A. Burack, L. Mottron, “Enhanced pure-tone pitch discrimination among persons with autism but not Asperger syndrome”, Neuropsychologia, 48 (2010), 2465-2475.<br />[3] A. Dohn, E.A. Garza-Villarreal, P. Heaton, P. Vuust, “Do musicians with perfect pitch have more autism traits than musicians without perfect pitch? An empirical study”, PLos ONE, 7 (2012) e37961Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084499282270565764noreply@blogger.com