title: Voxel-based morphometry in opera singers: Increased gray-matter volume in right somatosensory and auditory cortices.
abstract: In contrast to instrumental musicians, professional singers do not train on a specific instrument but perfect a motor system that has already been extensively trained during speech motor development. Previous functional imaging studies suggest that experience with singing is associated with enhanced somatosensory-based vocal motor control. However, experience-dependent structural plasticity in vocal musicians has rarely been studied. We investigated voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in 27 professional classical singers and compared gray matter volume in regions of the "singing-network" to an age-matched group of 28 healthy volunteers with no special singing experience. We found right hemispheric volume increases in professional singers in ventral primary somatosensory cortex (larynx S1) and adjacent rostral supramarginal gyrus (BA40), as well as in secondary somatosensory (S2) and primary auditory cortices (A1). Moreover, we found that earlier commencement with vocal training correlated with increased gray-matter volume in S1. However, in contrast to studies with instrumental musicians, this correlation only emerged in singers who began their formal training after the age of 14years, when speech motor development has reached its first plateau. Structural data thus confirm and extend previous functional reports suggesting a pivotal role of somatosensation in vocal motor control with increased experience in singing. Results furthermore indicate a sensitive period for developing additional vocal skills after speech motor coordination has matured.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: boris.kleber@clin.au.dk.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kleber
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veit
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina Valérie
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Moll
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaser
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Ospedale San Camillo, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, 30126 Venezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Birbaumer
authors.affiliation: Functional Imaging Unit, Center for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald, 17489 Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lotze
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011361:Professional Competence; D060865:Repetition Priming; D063346:Singing; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult