Right-Lateralized Enhancement of the Auditory Cortical Network During Imagined Music Performance

Although the primary role of the auditory cortical areas is to process actual sounds, these areas are also activated by tasks that process imagined music, suggesting that the auditory cortical areas are involved in the processes underlying musical imagery. However, the mechanism by which these areas...

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Published inFrontiers in neuroscience Vol. 16; p. 739858
Main Authors Tanaka, Shoji, Kirino, Eiji
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 10.02.2022
Subjects
asymmetry
fMRI
functional connectivity
imagery
laterality
network
Neuroscience
fMRI
asymmetry
functional connectivity
laterality
imagery
network
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Summary:Although the primary role of the auditory cortical areas is to process actual sounds, these areas are also activated by tasks that process imagined music, suggesting that the auditory cortical areas are involved in the processes underlying musical imagery. However, the mechanism by which these areas are involved in such processes is unknown. To elucidate this feature of the auditory cortical areas, we analyzed their functional networks during imagined music performance in comparison with those in the resting condition. While imagined music performance does not produce any musical sounds, the participants heard the same actual sounds from the MRI equipment in both experimental conditions. Therefore, if the functional connectivity between these conditions differs significantly, one can infer that the auditory cortical areas are actively involved in imagined music performance. Our functional connectivity analysis revealed a significant enhancement in the auditory network during imagined music performance relative to the resting condition. The reconfiguration profile of the auditory network showed a clear right-lateralized increase in the connectivity of the auditory cortical areas with brain regions associated with cognitive, memory, and emotional information processing. On the basis of these results, we hypothesize that auditory cortical areas and their networks are actively involved in imagined music performance through the integration of auditory imagery into mental imagery associated with music performance.
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Edited by: Alfredo Brancucci, Foro Italico University of Rome, Italy
Reviewed by: Mark Fiecas, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States; Joji Tsunada, University of Pennsylvania, United States
This article was submitted to Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience
ISSN:1662-4548
1662-453X
1662-453X
DOI:10.3389/fnins.2022.739858