Increased corpus callosum size in musicians

Schlaug, Gottfried; Jäncke, Lutz; Huang, Yanxiong; Staiger, Jochen F.; Steinmetz, Helmuth

doi:10.1016/0028-3932(95)00045-5

Cited by 645 publications

(486 citation statements)

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“…All correlations were negative, indicating higher diffusivity for earlier onset (table 1). Schlaug et al (1995a) found enlarged anterior callosa only in a subgroup of musicians who had started musical training before the age of 7. Therefore, we regrouped the musicians by a median split (median of onset = 6.25 years) and assigned them to an early onset group (n = 13, mean age = 23.8 ± 3.0, mean onset = 5.0 ± 0.7) and a late onset group (n = 13, mean age = 25.38 ± 2.6, mean onset = 8.6 ± 1.1).…”

Section: Onset Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The hypothesis that an early onset of musical training may be crucial for white matter plasticity in the brain was derived from Schlaug et al (1995a). They reported enlarged anterior callosa only in the subgroup of musicians which had started musical training before the age of 7, but not in the subgroup with later onset.…”

Section: Onset Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This finding may reflect the stronger sensorimotor demand for the left hand and the right motor cortex in string players and lends support to the hypothesis of training-induced anatomical plasticity. In general, structural differences seem to be more pronounced in musicians who began learning at a younger age (Elbert et al, 1995;Schlaug et al, 1995a) and practiced with greater intensity (Schneider et al, 2005;Gaser and Schlaug, 2003;Hutchinson et al, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…On the one hand, coarse anatomical plastic changes have been observed using in-vivo magnetic resonance morphometry and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) (e.g. Schlaug et al, 1995a;Gaser and Schlaug, 2003). On the other hand, methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is evidence of structural differences in gray matter between musicians and non-musicians in a number of regions in the brain, including the planum temporale (Keenan et al, 2001;Schlaug et al, 1995b), Heschl's gyrus (Schneider et al, 2005), the anterior corpus callosum (Schlaug et al, 1995a), the primary hand motor area and the cerebellum (Gaser and Schlaug, 2003), and Broca's area (Sluming et al, 2002). Interestingly, structural differences in the primary motor cortex between keyboard and string instrument players have been reported (Schlaug et al, 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

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White matter plasticity in the corticospinal tract of musicians: A diffusion tensor imaging study

et al. 2009

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With the advent of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the study of plastic changes in white matter architecture due to long-term practice has attracted increasing interest. Professional musicians provide an ideal model for investigating white matter plasticity because of their early onset of extensive auditory and sensorimotor training. We performed fiber tractography and subsequent voxelwise analysis, region of interest (ROI) analysis, and detailed slicewise analysis of diffusion parameters in the corticospinal tract (CST) on 26 professional musicians and a control group of 13 participants. All analyses resulted in significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values in both the left and the right CST in the musician group. Furthermore, a right-greater-than-left asymmetry of FA was observed regardless of group. In the musician group, diffusivity was negatively correlated with the onset of musical training in childhood. A subsequent median split into an early and a late onset musician group (median=7 years) revealed increased diffusivity in the CST of the early onset group as compared to both the late onset group and the controls. In conclusion, these DTI-based findings might indicate plastic changes in white matter architecture of the CST in professional musicians. Our results imply that training-induced changes in diffusion characteristics of the axonal membrane may lead to increased radial diffusivity as reflected in decreased FA values. AbstractWith the advent of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the study of plastic changes in white matter architecture due to long-term practice has attracted increasing interest. Professional musicians provide an ideal model for investigating white matter plasticity because of their early onset of extensive auditory and sensorimotor training. We performed fiber tractography and subsequent voxelwise analysis, region of interest (ROI) analysis, and detailed slicewise analysis of diffusion parameters in the CST on 26 professional musicians and a control group of 13 participants. All analyses resulted in significantly lower FA values in both the left and the right CST in the musician group. Furthermore, a right-greater-than-left asymmetry of FA was observed regardless of group.In the musician group, diffusivity was negatively correlated with the onset of musical training in childhood. A subsequent median split into an early and a late onset musician group (median = 7 years) revealed increased diffusivity in the CST of the early onset group as compared with both the late onset group and the controls. In conclusion, these DTI-based findings might indicate plastic changes in white matter architecture of the CST in professional musicians. Our results imply that training-induced changes in diffusion characteristics of the axonal membrane may lead to increased radial diffusivity as reflected in decreased FA values.2

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Section: Onset Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Onset Of Musical Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 94%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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White matter plasticity in the corticospinal tract of musicians: A diffusion tensor imaging study

et al. 2009

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A Pianist's Recovery From Stroke

Toole¹,

Flowers²,

Burdette³

et al. 2007

Arch Neurol

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To determine alternative neural pathways for restitution of piano playing after right hemispheric infarction causing left arm and hand paralysis.Design: Case report testing coordinated bimanual skills using structured motor skills tests and neuroimaging.Setting: A professional pianist sustained a lacunar infarction in the posterior limb of his right internal capsule, which resulted in left hemiparesis with immobilized left-hand and -finger movements persisting for 13 weeks. After 6 months, he had recovered bimanual coordinated piano skills by "ignoring" his left hand while concentrating or discussing subjects other than music while playing.

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Motor cortex and hand motor skills: Structural compliance in the human brain

et al. 1997

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Recent studies in humans and nonhuman primates have shown that the functional organization of the human sensorimotor cortex changes following sensory stimulation or following the acquisition of motor skills. It is unknown whether functional plasticity in response to the acquisition of new motor skills and the continued performance of complicated bimanual movements for years is associated with structural changes in the organization of the motor cortex. Professional musicians, especially keyboard and string players, are a prototypical group for investigating these changes in the human brain. Using magnetic resonance images, we measured the length of the posterior wall of the precentral gyrus bordering the central sulcus (intrasulcal length of the precentral gyrus, ILPG) in horizontal sections through both hemispheres of right-handed keyboard players and of an age-and handedness-matched control group. Lacking a direct in vivo measurement of the primary motor cortex in humans, we assumed that the ILPG is a measure of the size of the primary motor cortex. Left-right asymmetry in the ILPG was analyzed and compared between both groups. Whereas controls exhibited a pronounced left-larger-than-right asymmetry , keyboard players had more symmetrical ILPG. The most pronounced differences in ILPG between keyboard players and controls were seen in the most dorsal part of the presumed cortical hand representation of both hemispheres. This was especially true in the nondominant right hemispheres. The size of the ILPG was negatively correlated with age of commencement of musical training in keyboard players, supporting our hypothesis that the human motor cortex can exhibit functionally induced and long-lasting structural adaptations.

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Increased corpus callosum size in musicians

Cited by 645 publications

References 39 publications

White matter plasticity in the corticospinal tract of musicians: A diffusion tensor imaging study

White matter plasticity in the corticospinal tract of musicians: A diffusion tensor imaging study

A Pianist's Recovery From Stroke

Motor cortex and hand motor skills: Structural compliance in the human brain

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