“Tiny ADHD KX™️” - Ep 161 - ADHD & Perfect Pitch (9)

Описание: “Tiny ADHD KX™️” - Ep 161 - ADHD & Perfect Pitch (9)
Date: (Sun) 11.02.2025
Posted on YouTube: (TH) 11.06.2025
Written by: Jenna Chou, PMP

Neuron by Neuron

Here’s the deep neuroscience view of what’s happening neuron by neuron in people with perfect pitch (absolute pitch).

🧬 1. Encoding pitch: the sensory foundation

When any sound enters the ear:
1. Hair cells in the cochlea vibrate at specific frequencies.
• Each one responds best to a narrow pitch band (for example, one group fires for 440 Hz = A4).
2. These signals travel via the auditory nerve to the primary auditory cortex (A1) in the temporal lobe.
• A1 is arranged tonotopically — like a piano keyboard, each strip of neurons responds to a particular frequency.

In most people, this is where pitch perception stops being absolute — the brain only keeps the relative spacing between pitches (intervals).

🧩 2. Pitch “labeling” neurons: the perfect pitch difference

In those with absolute pitch, studies show an extra layer of processing happens almost immediately after A1, mainly in:
• Left planum temporale (PT)
• Left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG)
• Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

These regions store and retrieve learned auditory categories.

For perfect pitch possessors, some neurons in these regions have formed stable associations like:

440 Hz → “A”
466 Hz → “A♯”
392 Hz → “G”

This acts like a “pitch–name dictionary” that fires automatically within milliseconds — without comparison.
MRI and EEG studies show earlier and stronger activation in these left-hemisphere regions when they hear tones.

APP Store: “Analyzer”

🔁 3. Neural circuitry and plasticity

During early childhood, the auditory–language connection is highly plastic. If a child is repeatedly exposed to labeled pitches (for example, learning piano and hearing “This is C, this is G”), neurons in the auditory cortex and language areas begin to wire together.

Hebbian learning (“cells that fire together wire together”) strengthens these synapses:

Each time the child hears the pitch C and hears “C,” those neurons fire together.
Over time, “C” becomes hardwired as a sensory–verbal link.

After about age 3-5, this plasticity drops sharply — which is why adults almost never develop perfect pitch unless they had early training.

⚙️ 4. Memory and stability

Once encoded, these pitch–name links are stored in long-term auditory memory, supported by:
• Hippocampus: helps consolidate the associations.
• Anterior temporal cortex: stores long-term auditory categories.
• Prefrontal cortex: retrieves the correct label automatically when a note is heard.

Neurons here maintain stable frequency tuning, meaning they’ll still fire to 440 Hz years later — much like how your brain recognizes the color “blue” regardless of lighting.

🧠 5. The auditory “color map” and synesthesia overlap

Some individuals also show cross-activation between:
• Auditory cortex → visual color areas (V4/V8)
• This explains why certain notes evoke colors or textures.

So for them, when 440 Hz activates the “A” neurons, it also weakly triggers visual or emotional areas — creating that vivid, multi-sensory perception (“C major feels yellow and open”).

Sources:
Jenna Chou, PMP
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