C.&O. Vogt Brain Research Institute, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Hum Brain Mapp. 1997;5(3):206-15. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0193(1997)5:3<206::AID-HBM5>3.0.CO;2-7.
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.
最近的人类和非人类灵长类动物研究表明,人类感觉运动皮层的功能组织在感觉刺激或运动技能习得后会发生变化。目前尚不清楚,对于新运动技能的习得以及多年来持续进行复杂双手运动的反应中,功能可塑性是否与运动皮层组织的结构变化有关。专业音乐家,尤其是键盘和弦乐演奏者,是研究人类大脑这些变化的典型群体。使用磁共振成像,我们在右手键盘演奏者和年龄、惯用手匹配的对照组的两个半球的水平切片中测量了中央沟边界的中央前回后壁的长度(中央前回内的长度,ILPG)。由于在人类中缺乏对初级运动皮层的直接活体测量,我们假设 ILPG 是初级运动皮层大小的测量值。分析并比较了两组之间 ILPG 的左右不对称性。对照组表现出明显的左大于右的不对称性,而键盘演奏者的 ILPG 更对称。键盘演奏者和对照组之间 ILPG 差异最明显的部分位于两个半球的假定皮质手部代表区域的最背侧。这在非优势的右半球中尤为明显。ILPG 的大小与键盘演奏者开始音乐训练的年龄呈负相关,这支持了我们的假设,即人类运动皮层可以表现出功能诱导和持久的结构适应。