title: Quantitative proton MR spectroscopic findings of cortical reorganization in the auditory cortex of musicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Brain has a capacity for reorganization that enables use-dependent adaptations to acquire skills. Previous studies demonstrated morphometric and functional use-dependent changes in the brains of musicians. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in metabolite concentrations in the planum temporale, an area strongly associated with the processing of music perception, between trained musicians and non-musicians. We hypothesized that the microscopic changes leading to use-dependent adaptations in brain might cause neurometabolite changes that could be detected with quantitative proton MR spectroscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed quantitative proton MR spectroscopy in the left planum temporale of 10 musicians (six men and four women; age range, 20-37 years) and in those of 10 age- and sex-matched control subjects who had no musical training. We calculated the major metabolite concentrations in the left planum temporale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The difference in N-acetylaspartate (NAA) concentrations between the musicians and the non-musician control subjects was statistically significant (P <.01). No significant difference was noted in the choline and creatine concentrations between the musicians and the non-musician control subjects (P >.05). The NAA concentration of the musicians correlated with the total duration of musical training and activity (r=0.733, P <.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term, professional musical activity caused significant changes in the neurometabolite concentrations that might reflect the physiologic mechanism(s) of use-dependent adaptation in the brains of musicians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Etiler, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kubilay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Koray
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ciftci
authors.forename: Ege
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Terzibasioglu
authors.forename: Mehmed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Demirtas
authors.forename: Serra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sencer
authors.forename: Ozenc
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Minareci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012016:Reference Values; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline