In EEG studies comparing language and music, how do syntactic violations in language compare to chords in music in the P600 range?

• A. Language violations elicit P600; chords do not
• B. Chords yield greater P600 than language
• C. They are statistically indistinguishable in amplitude and scalp distribution
• D. P600 is not observed for either

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that the P600 reflects syntactic processing and reanalysis that can occur in both language and music. When a syntactic violation appears in language or a harmonic/structural violation arises in music, the brain often shows a P600 around 600 ms, with a centro-parietal distribution. In EEG studies comparing the two domains, these P600 responses typically resemble each other in timing, scalp spread, and overall size, so they are statistically indistinguishable in amplitude and topography. This pattern points to a shared, domain-general mechanism for processing hierarchical structure across language and music. Some variability can occur due to task, stimulus specifics, or expertise, but the general finding supports cross-domain similarity rather than a domain-specific, language-only response.