Table 5.
Musical processing: absolute pitch, amusia, and auditory processing.
| Author/Year | N | Agea (years) | Topic(s) | Task(s) | Finding(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lense et al., 2013 | (WS) 73 | (WS) 10–51 | Amusia; Auditory Processing | Distorted Tunes Test (DTT)b; Spectral/Fundamental Processing Task (SPF)c | Higher incidence of amusia in WS compared to general population; Amusia strongly predicted musical skill; Overall tendency toward fundamental processing in WS |
| Martínez-Castilla et al., 2013 (2 studies) | (WS) 7 (TD) 14 (AP) 2 | (WS Trained) 21.96 (6.8) Range: 15–32 (TD Trained) 21.49 (5.7) Range: unclear (AP) 14 and 16.4 | AP | Pitch identification task: Label pitches without use of a reference tone | Prevalence of AP in WS is not higher than the general population; Both WS and TD performed equally and near chance |
| (WS) 27 (TD) 54 (AP) 2 | (WS Trained) 21.96 (6.8) (WS Untrained) 19.55 (5.94) (TD Trained) 21.49 (5.7) (TD Untrained) 19.59 (6.09) (AP) 14 and 16.4 | AP | Pitch memory task: Discriminate if two tones were same/different following a retention interval filled with a distracting melody | ||
| Deruelle et al., 2005 | (WS) 16 (TD) 16 | (WS) 12 y 7 m (4 y) Range: 8 y 7 m−19 y 3 m (TD) 13 y 5 m (3 y 7 m) | Global/Local | Discriminate if two melodies were same/different; “Different” melodies had errors that either violated or preserved the overall contour of the previous melody | Deficits in global rather than local perception of auditory stimuli in WS |
| Lenhoff et al., 2001 | (WS) 5 | (WS) 13–43 | AP | Battery of tasks for absolute and relative pitch: identifying single notes; identifying natural notes in harmonic dyads/triads; pitch production and transposition | Higher prevalence of AP in WS than the general population; The critical period for acquisition of AP may be extended in WS |
AP, Absolute Pitch; TD, Typically Developing Control; WS, Williams Syndrome.
a
Age in years, expressed in one of the following formats based on information available: (a) range in years, (b) mean (standard deviation), or (c) mean ± years.
b
DTT, Distorted Tunes Test (Drayna et al., 2001).