Abstract
The dorsal striatum (caudate/putamen) is a node of the cortico-striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical (CSPTC) motor circuit, which plays a central role in skilled motor learning, a critical feature of musical performance. The dorsal striatum receives input from a large part of the cerebral cortex, forming a hub in the cortical-subcortical network. This study sought to examine how the functional network of the dorsal striatum differs between musicians and nonmusicians. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from female university students majoring in music and nonmusic disciplines. The data were subjected to functional connectivity analysis and graph theoretical analysis. The functional connectivity analysis indicated that compared with nonmusicians, musicians had significantly decreased connectivity between the left putamen and bilateral frontal operculum (FO) and between the left caudate nucleus and cerebellum. The graph theoretical analysis of the entire brain revealed that the degrees, which represent the numbers of connections, of the bilateral putamen were significantly lower in musicians than in nonmusicians. In conclusion, compared with nonmusicians, female musicians have a smaller functional network of the dorsal striatum with decreased connectivity. These data are consistent with previous anatomical studies reporting a reduced volume of the dorsal striatum in musicians and ballet dancers, suggesting that long-term musical training reshapes the functional network of the dorsal striatum to be less extensive or selective.
Highlights
Professional musicians undergo long-term training that includes the acquisition of motor skills required to play a musical instrument
Whereas different cortical areas are activated by different dimensions of musical information processing, such that the dorsal visual stream is activated by melodic processing, and the ventral visual stream is activated by rhythmic processing (Bengtsson and Ullén, 2006), the cortical motor areas, basal ganglia, and cerebellum are commonly activated by many music-related tasks
The functional connectivity between the right putamen and the right frontal operculum (FO), left insular cortex (IC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was decreased in the musicians
Summary
Professional musicians undergo long-term training that includes the acquisition of motor skills required to play a musical instrument. Performing music, either playing a musical instrument or singing, requires complex information processing and activates several brain regions simultaneously. In a positron emission tomography (PET) study, a melody generation task in amateur musicians has been shown to activate the prefrontal cortex (PFC; right BA 44 and left BA 45), motor areas [premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and pre-SMA], bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG), insula, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum (Brown et al, 2006). Whereas different cortical areas are activated by different dimensions of musical information processing, such that the dorsal visual stream is activated by melodic processing, and the ventral visual stream is activated by rhythmic processing (Bengtsson and Ullén, 2006), the cortical motor areas (the PMC, SMA, and pre-SMA), basal ganglia, and cerebellum are commonly activated by many music-related tasks
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