Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Hippocampus. 2013 Jul;23(7):552-8. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22120. Epub 2013 Apr 29.
Recently, age-related hippocampal (HP) volume loss could be associated with a decrease in general fluid intelligence (gF). In the present study we investigated whether and how extensive musical training modulates human HP volume and gF performance. Previously, some studies demonstrated positive effects of musical training on higher cognitive functions such as learning and memory, associated with neural adaptations beyond the auditory domain. In order to detect possible associations between musical training and gF, we bilaterally segmented the HP formation and assessed the individual gF performance of people with different levels of musical expertise. Multiple regression analyses revealed that HP volume predicts gF in musicians but not in nonmusicians; in particular, bilaterally enhanced HP volume is associated with increased gF exclusively in musically trained people (amateurs and experts). This result suggests that musical training facilitates the recruitment of cognitive resources, which are essential for gF and linked to HP functioning. Musical training, even at a moderate level of intensity, can thus be considered as a potential strategy to decelerate age-related effects of cognitive decline.
最近，与年龄相关的海马体（HP）体积损失可能与一般流体智力（gF）下降有关。在本研究中，我们调查了广泛的音乐训练是否以及如何调节人类 HP 体积和 gF 表现。以前的一些研究表明，音乐训练对学习和记忆等更高认知功能有积极影响，这些功能与听觉领域以外的神经适应有关。为了检测音乐训练和 gF 之间可能存在的关联，我们对具有不同音乐专业水平的人的 HP 形成进行了双侧分割，并评估了个体 gF 表现。多元回归分析显示，HP 体积可以预测音乐家的 gF，但不能预测非音乐家的 gF；特别是，双侧增强的 HP 体积与受过音乐训练的人（业余爱好者和专家）的 gF 增加有关。这一结果表明，音乐训练有助于利用认知资源，这对 gF 至关重要，与 HP 功能有关。因此，即使是中等强度的音乐训练也可以被视为减缓与年龄相关的认知能力下降的潜在策略。
