Structural and Functional MRI Differences in Master Sommeliers: A Pilot Study on Expertise in the Brain.

Sarah J Banks,David M Weintraub,Meghan E Pierce,Gabriel C Leger,Xiaowei Zhuang,Johannes Frasnelli,Deanna Baldock,Michael Noback,Karthik R Sreenivasan,Erik Beall,Dietmar Cordes,Jay James

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00414

Abstract

Our experiences, even as adults, shape our brains. Regional differences have been found in experts, with the regions associated with their particular skill-set. Functional differences have also been noted in brain activation patterns in some experts. This study uses multimodal techniques to assess structural and functional patterns that differ between experts and non-experts. Sommeliers are experts in wine and thus in olfaction. We assessed differences in Master Sommeliers’ brains, compared with controls, in structure and also in functional response to olfactory and visual judgment tasks. MRI data were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry as well as automated parcellation to assess structural properties, and group differences between tasks were calculated. Results indicate enhanced volume in the right insula and entorhinal cortex, with the cortical thickness of the entorhinal correlating with experience. There were regional activation differences in a large area involving the right olfactory and memory regions, with heightened activation specifically for sommeliers during an olfactory task. Our results indicate that sommeliers’ brains show specialization in the expected regions of the olfactory and memory networks, and also in regions important in integration of internal sensory stimuli and external cues. Overall, these differences suggest that specialized expertise and training might result in enhancements in the brain well into adulthood. This is particularly important given the regions involved, which are the first to be impacted by many neurodegenerative diseases.

Highlights

Several studies have assessed the development of new skills in adulthood and associated changes in brain structure
The olfactory regions are relevant to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, where initial neurodegeneration is isolated to regions important in smell
Sommeliers were, as expected, better on both the Wine Quiz and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) compared with controls

Summary

Introduction

Several studies have assessed the development of new skills in adulthood and associated changes in brain structure. There have been studies looking at distinct functional activation patterns in experts. Musicians show a distinct pattern of prefrontal activity compared with non-musicians when listening to different rhythms (Chen et al, 2008), perfumers. MRI Characteristics of Sommeliers show distinct patterns of activation in the olfactory regions and hippocampus when imaging smells (Plailly et al, 2012) and even sommeliers, or wine experts, showed enhanced regions of the memory network when tasting wines during an fMRI study (Pazart et al, 2014). Sommeliers’ brains are of particular interest since their expertise is centered on the chemo-senses, olfaction and gustation, but associated with multiple other functions including memory, judgment, and the amalgamation of this with other senses. Given that sommeliers are experts not just in a single domain (e.g., olfaction and gustatory) but combine these, we felt that they may have specialization in regions important in integrating sensory information

Methods

Results

Conclusion