Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Center for Music in the Brain (MIB), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus C, Denmark.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 11;12(1):11726. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14959-4.
Through long-term training, music experts acquire complex and specialized sensorimotor skills, which are paralleled by continuous neuro-anatomical and -functional adaptations. The underlying neuroplasticity mechanisms have been extensively explored in decades of research in music, cognitive, and translational neuroscience. However, the absence of a comprehensive review and quantitative meta-analysis prevents the plethora of variegated findings to ultimately converge into a unified picture of the neuroanatomy of musical expertise. Here, we performed a comprehensive neuroimaging meta-analysis of publications investigating neuro-anatomical and -functional differences between musicians (M) and non-musicians (NM). Eighty-four studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. From these, 58 publications were included in coordinate-based meta-analyses using the anatomic/activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method. This comprehensive approach delivers a coherent cortico-subcortical network encompassing sensorimotor and limbic regions bilaterally. Particularly, M exhibited higher volume/activity in auditory, sensorimotor, interoceptive, and limbic brain areas and lower volume/activity in parietal areas as opposed to NM. Notably, we reveal topographical (dis-)similarities between the identified functional and anatomical networks and characterize their link to various cognitive functions by means of meta-analytic connectivity modelling. Overall, we effectively synthesized decades of research in the field and provide a consistent and controversies-free picture of the neuroanatomy of musical expertise.
经过长期的训练,音乐专家获得了复杂而专门的感觉运动技能,这些技能伴随着持续的神经解剖学和功能适应。在音乐、认知和转化神经科学的几十年研究中,已经广泛探索了潜在的神经可塑性机制。然而,由于缺乏全面的综述和定量荟萃分析,众多多样化的发现最终无法汇聚成音乐专业知识的神经解剖学的统一图景。在这里,我们对研究音乐家(M)和非音乐家(NM)之间神经解剖学和功能差异的出版物进行了全面的神经影像学荟萃分析。定性综合纳入了 84 项研究。在此基础上,使用基于解剖/激活似然估计(ALE)方法的坐标基荟萃分析纳入了 58 项出版物。这种全面的方法提供了一个连贯的皮质下网络,包括双侧的感觉运动和边缘区域。特别是,与 NM 相比,M 在听觉、感觉运动、内脏感觉和边缘脑区表现出更高的体积/活动,而在顶叶区域则表现出更低的体积/活动。值得注意的是,我们通过荟萃分析连接建模揭示了所确定的功能和解剖网络之间的地形(不)相似性,并描述了它们与各种认知功能的联系。总的来说,我们有效地综合了该领域几十年来的研究,并提供了音乐专业知识神经解剖学的一致且无争议的图景。