Cortical Gray Matter Changes Following a 4-Week Auditory-Cued Visuomotor Training.
Poster No:
2099
Submission Type:
Late-Breaking Abstract Submission
Authors:
Mohammed Mudarris1, Elise Besemer1, Neil Roberts2, Katie Overy2, Rebecca Schaefer1
Institutions:
1Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, 2University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Late Breaking Reviewer(s):
Introduction:
Musicians and nonmusicians differ in cortical grey matter (Hudziak et al., 2014). Task-based fMRI (Herholz et al., 2016) and white matter connectivity (Moore et al., 2017; Vaquero et al., 2018) show the effects of short-term, multimodal motor learning.We examine the effect of music-based motor learning on grey matter regions linked to auditory processing & motor learning.
This study used T1W-MRI to investigate changes in cortical thickness, grey matter volume, and surface area related to a visuomotor hand training with or without musical cues, expecting increases with training that were more pronounced when musical cues were added, and exploring correlations between motor performance increases and brain change.
This study used T1W-MRI to investigate changes in cortical thickness, grey matter volume, and surface area related to a visuomotor hand training with or without musical cues, expecting increases with training that were more pronounced when musical cues were added, and exploring correlations between motor performance increases and brain change.
Methods:
Twenty-seven participants (M=21.22, SD= 2.29; 18–30; 3:7 M:F) were allocated to a Music or Control Group (MG/CG), where the former trained with musical cues and the latter did not. Both groups completed left-hand training for four weeks with three weekly 20-minute sessions, and underwent pre- and post-training scans and motor assessment on trained and novel finger sequences (Moore et al., 2017). ROIs were extracted using the Freesurfer Desikan-Killiany atlas. Regions of interest (ROIs) were bilateral motor and auditory regions, namely precentral gyrus (PCG), paracentral gyrus (PAG), superior temporal gyrus (STG), and transverse temporal gyrus (TTG).
·ROIs based on the Desikan-Killiany Atlas
Results:
Contrary to expectations, an ANOVA on the change over time (post-pre) yielded no significant differences in cortical thickness, grey matter volume, or surface area between groups or hemispheres for all ROIs. However, significant interactions were observed between hemisphere and group for auditory regions' cortical thickness (STG: (F(1,25)=5.06, p=.03; TTG: (F(1,25)=4.37, p<.05); TTG: F(1, 25) = 4.37)), and surface area (TTG: F(1, 25) = 4.88) indicating greater cortical thickness increase in the contralateral hemisphere for CG, and in the ipsilateral hemisphere for the MG. Moreover, surface area of the STG shows a decrease in the MG, whereas it increases in the CG for both hemipsheres, pre-and-post training.
·Correlations between motor learning and ROIs
Conclusions:
Training the non-dominant hand with and without musical cues affects bilateral motor and auditory cortical regions. Previoulsy reported differences between musicians and novices in interhemispheric involvement (Hund-Georgiadis & von Cramon, 2009) may extend to a short-term audio-motor learning of four-weeks. Here, we show that motor training with or without musical cues was associated with grey matter changes in dissociable ways. These findings suggest a complex interaction between hemisphere and group for auditory brain regions, with the main hypotheses left unsupported. Correlations found between motor outcomes and auditory areas may aid interpretations of these findings, but limitations in sample size need to be considered.
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Music 2
Learning and Memory:
Neural Plasticity and Recovery of Function
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Segmentation and Parcellation
Perception, Attention and Motor Behavior:
Perception: Multisensory and Crossmodal
Visuo-Motor Functions 1
Keywords:
Cognition
Hemispheric Specialization
Learning
Motor
Plasticity
Segmentation
STRUCTURAL MRI
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Abstract Information
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Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Hudziak JJ, et al. (2014). Cortical thickness maturation and duration of music training: health-promoting activities shape brain development. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2014.06.015
Hund-Georgiadis M & von Cramon DY (2009). Motor-learning-related changes in piano players and non-musicians revealed by functional magnetic-resonance signals. Experimental Brain Research. doi:10.1007/s002210050698
Moore E, Schaefer RS, Bastin ME, Roberts N, Overy K (2017). Diffusion tensor MRI tractography reveals increased fractional anisotropy in arcuate fasciculus following music-cued motor training. Brain & Cognition. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.05.001
Vaquero L, Ramos-Escobar N, François C, Penhune V, Rodríguez-Fornells A(2018). White-matter structural connectivity predicts short-term melody and rhythm learning in nonmusicians. Neuroimage. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.054