Mapping perception to action in piano practice: a longitudinal DC-EEG study.
BACKGROUND
Performing music requires fast auditory and motor processing. Regarding professional musicians, recent brain imaging studies have demonstrated that auditory stimulation produces a co-activation of motor areas, whereas silent tapping of musical phrases evokes a co-activation in auditory regions. Whether this is obtained via a specific cerebral relay station is unclear. Furthermore, the time course of plasticity has not yet been addressed.


RESULTS
Changes in cortical activation patterns (DC-EEG potentials) induced by short (20 minute) and long term (5 week) piano learning were investigated during auditory and motoric tasks. Two beginner groups were trained. The 'map' group was allowed to learn the standard piano key-to-pitch map. For the 'no-map' group, random assignment of keys to tones prevented such a map. Auditory-sensorimotor EEG co-activity occurred within only 20 minutes. The effect was enhanced after 5-week training, contributing elements of both perception and action to the mental representation of the instrument. The 'map' group demonstrated significant additional activity of right anterior regions.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that musical training triggers instant plasticity in the cortex, and that right-hemispheric anterior areas provide an audio-motor interface for the mental representation of the keyboard.
Bangert
Marc
M
Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians Medicine, Hanover University of Music and Drama, Hohenzollernstrasse 47, D-30161 Hanover, Germany. mbangert@bidmc.harvard.edu
Altenmüller
Eckart O
EO
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D009146:Music; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology