Partially Overlapping Brain Networks for Singing and Cello Playing

Abstract

14 Abstract 15This research uses an MR-Compatible cello to compare functional brain activation 16 during singing and cello playing within the same individuals to determine the extent to 17 which arbitrary auditory-motor associations, like those required to play the cello, co-opt 18 functional brain networks that evolved for singing. Musical instrument playing and 19 singing both require highly specific associations between sounds and movements. 20Because these are both used to produce musical sounds, it is often assumed in the 21 literature that their neural underpinnings are highly similar. However, singing is an 22 evolutionarily old human trait, and the auditory-motor associations used for singing are 23 also used for speech and nonspeech vocalizations. This sets it apart from the arbitrary 24 auditory-motor associations required to play musical instruments. The pitch 25 distribution of the cello is uniquely similar to that of the human voice, but cello playing 26 is completely independent of the vocal apparatus, and can therefore be used to 27 dissociate the auditory-vocal network from that of the auditory-motor network. While 28 in the MR-Scanner, 11 expert cellists listened to and subsequently produced individual 29 tones either by singing or cello playing. All participants were able to sing and play the 30 target tones in tune (<50C deviation from target). We found that brain activity during 31 cello playing directly overlaps with brain activity during singing in many areas within 32 the auditory-vocal network. These areas include dorsal motor and premotor areas, SMA 33 and Pre-SMA, STG, ACC, aINS, IPS(R), and Cerebellum but, notably, exclude the 34 PAG and Basal Ganglia (Putamen). Second, that activity within the overlapping areas 35 is positively correlated with, and therefore likely contributing to, both singing and Last, our findings showed that cello playing may directly co-opt vocal areas (including 42 larynx area of motor cortex), especially if training begins before age 7.

Neural network retuning and neural predictors of learning success associated with cello training

“…Since similar networks appear to be active across studies, we conclude that the dorsal stream has a general capacity for action-sound mapping. This conclusion is also consistent with recent data showing that cello playing and singing engage similar brain networks (38). These findings therefore highlight the auditory-motor coupling (4,16,39,40) that develops during music learning.…”

Singing training predicts increased insula connectivity with speech and respiratory sensorimotor areas at rest

“…For example, every movement specifically stimulates a corresponding somatosensory region in S1 (Giraud and Poeppel, 2012;Schomers and Pulvermuller, 2016), which is intrinsically connected to ipsilateral M1 and IPL (Borich et al, 2015;Bouchard et al, 2013), involves the thalamus (Ackermann and Riecker, 2010;Hwang et al, 2017), and becomes tightly associated with corresponding auditory-motor transformations (Ito et al, 2016;Ito andOstry, 2010, 2012;Ito et al, 2015;Ito et al, 2009). Moreover, M1 sends its strongest subcortical projections to the putamen (Simonyan and Horwitz, 2011), which shows increased activations in more proficient singers (Kleber et al, 2010;Segado et al, 2018;Zarate and Zatorre, 2008).…”

Awake Mapping of the Auditory Cortex during Tumor Resection in an Aspiring Musical Performer: A Case Report

“…Beyond the typical limitations of any case report, such as the inability to truly establish a causal relationship between the method and outcome, application of this paradigm is limited to preserving the components of musical reception and expression, as well as the “imagination” of both receptive and expressive music within our fMRI paradigms. However, other studies have looked at mapping the cortical regions important for playing piano, violin, and saxophone and found quite similar patterns of neural activation as seen with singing a melody [13, 19, 20], suggesting a potentially broader application for this paradigm. An additional caveat to consider is that our assessment of the emotional components of music was limited by the songs that were selected.…”