Verbal memory retrieval engages visual cortex in musicians

• Published in: Neuroscience Vol. 168; no. 1; pp. 179 - 189
• Main Authors: Huang, Z, Zhang, J.X, Yang, Z, Dong, G, Wu, J, Chan, A.S, Weng, X
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier 16.06.2010
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Cortex - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Memory; Music; Neurology; Pitch Discrimination; Psychomotor Performance; Verbal Behavior; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Visual Cortex - physiology; Young Adult; LOC; lateral occipital complex; planum temporale; blood oxygen level dependent; inferior frontal gyrus; PT; visual cortex; functional reorganization; IFG; ROI; fMRI; SD; region of interest; BOLD; musical training; brain plasticity; standard deviation; Memory retrieval; Visual cortex; Visual pathway; Central nervous system; Plasticity; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Functional imaging
• ISSN: 0306-4522; 1873-7544
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.03.027

Abstract As one major line of research on brain plasticity, many imaging studies have been conducted to identify the functional and structural reorganization associated with musical expertise. Based on previous behavioral research, the present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates of superior verbal memory performance in musicians. Participants with and without musical training performed a verbal memory task to first encode a list of words auditorily delivered and then silently recall as many words as possible. They performed in separate blocks a control task involving pure tone pitch judgment. Post-scan recognition test showed better memory performance in musicians than non-musicians. During memory retrieval, the musicians showed significantly greater activations in bilateral though left-lateralized visual cortex relative to the pitch judgment baseline. In comparison, no such visual cortical activations were found in the non-musicians. No group differences were observed during the encoding stage. The results echo a previous report of visual cortical activation during verbal memory retrieval in the absence of any visual sensory stimulation in the blind population, who are also known to possess superior verbal memory. It is suggested that the visual cortex can be recruited to serve as extra memory resources and contributes to the superior verbal memory in special situations. While in the blind population, such cross-modal functional reorganization may be induced by sensory deprivation; in the musicians it may be induced by the long-term and demanding nature of musical training to use as much available neural resources as possible.