Gray matter density and white matter integrity in pianists’ brain: A combined structural and diffusion tensor MRI study

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 459; no. 1; pp. 3 - 6
• Main Authors: Han, Ying, Yang, Hong, Lv, Ya-Ting, Zhu, Chao-Zhe, He, Yong, Tang, He-Han, Gong, Qi-Yong, Luo, Yue-Jia, Zang, Yu-Feng, Dong, Qi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 31.07.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adult; Anisotropy; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - growth & development; Cerebellum - anatomy & histology; Cerebellum - growth & development; Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology; Cerebral Cortex - growth & development; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Diffusion tensor imaging; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gray matter density; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Internal Capsule - anatomy & histology; Internal Capsule - growth & development; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Music; Nerve Fibers, Myelinated; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Voxel-based morphometry; White matter integrity; Young Adult; Gray matter density; White matter integrity; Magnetic resonance imaging; Voxel-based morphometry; Diffusion tensor imaging; Central nervous system; Morphometry; Density; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; White matter; Encephalon
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.07.056

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.