The relationship between musical rhythm and speech rhythm was the topic of a recent “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

MTSU psychology professor Dr. Cyrille Magne adjusts monitoring equipment on then-graduate student and test subject Riley Finch to prepare for an electroencephalography, or EEG, experiment in the university’s EEG lab in this 2013 file photo. (MTSU file photo by J. Intintoli)

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Dr. Cyrille Magne, an associate professor of psychology, first aired April 25 on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org). You can listen to their conversation above.

Magne and two academic colleagues authored research into the impact of music rhythm abilities on speech rhythm sensitivity. The research, which was funded with a National Science Foundation grant, was published in the academic journal “Brain and Language.”

Their study supports the idea that music training might enhance speech processing skills, which would benefit students in honing their overall literacy skills.

“All languages in the world have their own rhythm,” said Magne, “and especially in English, what we think about rhythm are those little emphases you put on some syllables that we call stresses. The pattern of stress and stress syllables is really something that is unique to the English language.”

You can find more information about MTSU research into the connection between the brain and language at https://sites.google.com/site/brainlanguagelab.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, visit the searchable “Audio Clips” archives at www.mtsunews.com.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.