Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada;
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3, Canada.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jun 26;115(26):E6056-E6064. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1721414115. Epub 2018 Jun 11.
The auditory and motor neural systems are closely intertwined, enabling people to carry out tasks such as playing a musical instrument whose mapping between action and sound is extremely sophisticated. While the dorsal auditory stream has been shown to mediate these audio-motor transformations, little is known about how such mapping emerges with training. Here, we use longitudinal training on a cello as a model for brain plasticity during the acquisition of specific complex skills, including continuous and many-to-one audio-motor mapping, and we investigate individual differences in learning. We trained participants with no musical background to play on a specially designed MRI-compatible cello and scanned them before and after 1 and 4 wk of training. Activation of the auditory-to-motor dorsal cortical stream emerged rapidly during the training and was similarly activated during passive listening and cello performance of trained melodies. This network activation was independent of performance accuracy and therefore appears to be a prerequisite of music playing. In contrast, greater recruitment of regions involved in auditory encoding and motor control over the training was related to better musical proficiency. Additionally, pre-supplementary motor area activity and its connectivity with the auditory cortex during passive listening before training was predictive of final training success, revealing the integrative function of this network in auditory-motor information processing. Together, these results clarify the critical role of the dorsal stream and its interaction with auditory areas in complex audio-motor learning.
听觉和运动神经系统紧密交织，使人们能够执行演奏乐器等任务，其动作与声音之间的映射非常复杂。虽然背侧听觉流已被证明介导了这些音频运动转换，但对于这种映射如何随着训练而出现知之甚少。在这里，我们使用大提琴的纵向训练作为大脑在特定复杂技能习得过程中的可塑性模型，包括连续的和多对一的音频运动映射，并研究了学习中的个体差异。我们训练了没有音乐背景的参与者使用专门设计的 MRI 兼容大提琴，并在训练前、训练 1 周后和 4 周后对他们进行扫描。听觉到运动的背侧皮质流的激活在训练过程中迅速出现，并在被动聆听和受过训练的旋律的大提琴演奏中同样被激活。这种网络激活与表现准确性无关，因此似乎是演奏音乐的先决条件。相比之下，在训练过程中，与听觉编码和运动控制相关的区域的募集增加与更好的音乐熟练程度相关。此外，在训练前的被动聆听期间，预备运动区的活动及其与听觉皮层的连接与最终训练成功相关，揭示了该网络在听觉运动信息处理中的整合功能。总的来说，这些结果阐明了背侧流及其与听觉区域相互作用在复杂音频运动学习中的关键作用。
