Gray matter density and white matter integrity in pianists' brain: a combined structural and diffusion tensor MRI study.
The current study combined structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and diffusion tensor MRI (DT-MRI) to investigate both gray matter density (GMD) and white matter integrity (WMI) in 18 pianists and 21 age-matched non-musicians. The pianists began their piano training at a mean age of 12. Voxel-based morphometry of the sMRI data showed that the pianists had higher GMD in the left primary sensorimotor cortex and right cerebellum. Voxel-based analysis of the DT-MRI data showed that pianists had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) (indicating higher WMI) in the right posterior limb of the internal capsule. The sMRI and DT-MRI results indicate that both the GMD and WMI of pianists may exhibit movement-related increases during adolescence or even early adulthood compared with non-musicians.
Han
Ying
Y
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China.
Yang
Hong
H
Lv
Ya-Ting
YT
Zhu
Chao-Zhe
CZ
He
Yong
Y
Tang
He-Han
HH
Gong
Qi-Yong
QY
Luo
Yue-Jia
YJ
Zang
Yu-Feng
YF
Dong
Qi
Q
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D020772:Internal Capsule / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated; D055815:Young Adult