Schwenkreis Peter, El Tom Susan, Ragert Patrick, Pleger Burkhard, Tegenthoff Martin, Dinse Hubert R
Department of Neurology, Ruhr-University Bochum, BG-Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Buerkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, D-44789 Bochum, Germany.
Eur J Neurosci. 2007 Dec;26(11):3291-302. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05894.x.
As a model for use-dependent plasticity, the brains of professional musicians have been extensively studied to examine structural and functional adaptation to unique requirements of skilled performance. Here we provide a combination of data on motor performance and hand representation in the primary motor and somatosensory cortex of professional violin players, with the aim of assessing possible behavioural consequences of sensorimotor cortical asymmetries. We studied 15 healthy right-handed professional violin players and 35 healthy nonmusician controls. Motor and somatosensory cortex asymmetry was assessed by recording the motor output map after transcranial magnetic stimulation from a small hand muscle, and by dipole source localization of somatosensory evoked potentials after electrical stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves. Motor performance was examined using a series of standardized motor tasks covering different aspects of hand function. Violin players showed a significant right-larger-than-left asymmetry of the motor and somatosensory cortex, whereas nonmusician controls showed no significant interhemispheric difference. The amount of asymmetry in the motor and somatosensory cortices of musicians was significantly correlated. At the behavioural level, motor performance did not significantly differ between musicians and nonmusicians. The results support a use-dependent enlargement of the left hand representation in the sensorimotor cortex of violin players. However, these cortical asymmetries were not paralleled by accompanying altered asymmetries at a behavioural level, suggesting that the reorganisation might be task-specific and does not lead to improved motor abilities in general.
作为使用依赖性可塑性的模型，专业音乐家的大脑已被广泛研究，以检验其对熟练演奏独特要求的结构和功能适应性。在此，我们提供了专业小提琴演奏者初级运动皮层和躯体感觉皮层中运动表现和手部表征的数据组合，旨在评估感觉运动皮层不对称可能产生的行为后果。我们研究了15名健康的右利手专业小提琴演奏者和35名健康的非音乐家对照者。通过记录经颅磁刺激来自手部一小块肌肉后的运动输出图，以及电刺激正中神经和尺神经后体感诱发电位的偶极子源定位，来评估运动皮层和躯体感觉皮层的不对称性。使用一系列涵盖手部功能不同方面的标准化运动任务来检查运动表现。小提琴演奏者的运动皮层和躯体感觉皮层显示出明显的右侧大于左侧的不对称性，而非音乐家对照者未显示出显著的半球间差异。音乐家运动皮层和躯体感觉皮层的不对称程度显著相关。在行为水平上，音乐家和非音乐家的运动表现没有显著差异。结果支持小提琴演奏者感觉运动皮层中左手表征因使用而扩大。然而，这些皮层不对称并没有伴随着行为水平上相应的不对称改变，这表明这种重组可能是特定于任务 的，一般不会导致运动能力的提高。
