Observing Plasticity of the Auditory System: Volumetric Decreases Along with Increased Functional Connectivity in Aspiring Professional Musicians.

ABSTRACT: Playing music relies on several sensory systems and the motor system, and poses strong demands on control processes, hence, offering an excellent model to study how experience can mold brain structure and function. Although most studies on neural correlates of music expertise rely on cross-sectional comparisons, here we compared within-person changes over time in aspiring professionals intensely preparing for an entrance exam at a University of the Arts to skilled amateur musicians not preparing for a music exam. In the group of aspiring professionals, we observed gray-matter volume decrements in left planum polare, posterior insula, and left inferior frontal orbital gyrus over a period of about 6 months that were absent among the amateur musicians. At the same time, the left planum polare

SUBMITTER: Wenger E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8152844 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature