Much is known about the motor system and its role in simple movement execution. However, little is understood about the neural systems underlying auditory-motor integration in the context of musical rhythm, or the enhanced ability of musicians to execute precisely timed sequences. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated how performance and neural activity were modulated as musicians and nonmusicians tapped in synchrony with progressively more complex and less metrically structured auditory rhythms. A functionally connected network was implicated in extracting higher-order features of a rhythm's temporal structure, with the dorsal premotor cortex mediating these auditory-motor interactions. In contrast to past studies, musicians recruited the prefrontal cortex to a greater degree than nonmusicians, whereas secondary motor regions were recruited to the same extent. We argue that the superior ability of musicians to deconstruct and organize a rhythm's temporal structure relates to the greater involvement of the prefrontal cortex mediating working memory.

Moving on time: Brain network for auditory-motor synchronization is modulated by rhythm complexity and musical training

White Matter Plasticity in the Adult Brain

Purpose In this review I summarize and discuss reported findings of structural and functional plasticity in the intact human brain. Methods The main focus is placed on research that uses musicians as a model to study brain plasticity. I summarize therefore mostly studies dealing with musicians or with the effect of music practice. In the first section, structural plasticity is described on the basis of modern neuroanatomical studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. In the second part, emphasis is given to studies reporting functional plasticity on the basis of changed neurophysiological activation patterns. These studies are discussed in the context of two approaches employed to study plasticity in the human brain: the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. Results The reviewed studies altogether indicate that experience can shape brain anatomy and brain physiology. Brain plasticity as demonstrated here is related to changed grey and white mater densities (and volumes) but also to changed activation patterns in the brain areas involved in controlling the expertise task. Conclusions Taken together, all studies support the view that the human brain is much more plastic than had been anticipated 20 years ago.

The plastic human brain.

Objective: Intensive repetitive musical practice can lead to bilateral cortical reorganization. However, whether musical sensorimotor and cognitive abilities transfer to nonmusical cognitive abilities that are maintained throughout the life span is unclear. In an attempt to identify modifiable lifestyle factors that may potentially enhance successful aging, we evaluated the association between musical instrumental participation and cognitive aging. Method: Seventy older healthy adults (ages 60‐83) varying in musical activity completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The groups (nonmusicians, low and high activity musicians) were matched on age, education, history of physical exercise, while musicians were matched on age of instrumental acquisition and formal years of musical training. Musicians were classified in the low (1‐9 years) or high (10 years) activity group based on years of musical experience throughout their life span. Results: The results of this preliminary study revealed that participants with at least 10 years of musical experience (high activity musicians) had better performance in nonverbal memory ( 2 .106), naming ( 2 .103), and executive processes ( 2 .131) in advanced age relative to nonmusicians. Several regression analyses evaluated how years of musical activity, age of acquisition, type of musical training, and other variables predicted cognitive performance. Conclusions: These correlational results suggest a strong predictive effect of high musical activity throughout the life span on preserved cognitive functioning in advanced age. A discussion of how musical participation may enhance cognitive aging is provided along with other alternative explanations.

/pdf/the-relation-between-instrumental-musical-activity-and-3ks4j7l5ml.pdf

The Relation Between Instrumental Musical Activity and Cognitive Aging

White matter plasticity in the corticospinal tract of musicians: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Motor practice induces plastic changes within the cortical motor system. Whereas rapidly evolving changes of cortical motor representations were the subject of a number of recent studies, effects of long-term practice on the motor system are so far poorly understood. In the present study pianists and nonmusicians were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Both groups performed simple and complex movement sequences on a keyboard with the right hand, the tasks requiring different levels of ordinal complexity. The aim of this study was to characterize motor representations related to sequence complexity and to long-term motor practice. In nonmusicians, complex motor sequences showed higher fMRI activations of the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and the rostral part of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) compared to simple motor sequences, whereas musicians showed no differential activations. These results may reflect the higher level of visuomotor integration required in the complex task in nonmusicians, whereas in musicians this rostral premotor network was employed during both tasks. Comparison of subject groups revealed increased activation of a more caudal premotor network in nonmusicians comprising the caudal part of the PMd and the supplementary motor area. This supports recent results suggesting a specialization within PMd. Furthermore, we conclude that plasticity due to long-term practice mainly occurs in caudal motor areas directly related to motor execution. The slowly evolving changes in M1 during motor skill learning may extend to adjacent areas, leading to more effective motor representations in pianists.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hbm.20112

Effects of long-term practice and task complexity in musicians and nonmusicians performing simple and complex motor tasks: implications for cortical motor organization.

A relatively small body of research has been conducted on the near- and long-term effects of study abroad (SA) to date. This existing research suggests that SA effects on language skills tend to be volatile, while the impact on various aspects of learners’ personal, academic, and professional development may be longer-lasting. Yet, learner perspectives on the dynamics and durability of such effects, in particular in the context of short-term SA programs, remain largely unexplored. This study hence investigates the near-term impact of short-term SA programs as experienced by students within the first months and years following their sojourns. A qualitative case-study design is employed to examine the accounts of four American students of German, who studied abroad in Austria for four weeks and were interviewed repeatedly over a period of up to 40 months after their sojourns. The results suggest that, from the students’ perspective, many effects deteriorate in the near term, although the overall sojourn experience still appears influential.
Abstract in German
Nur wenige Forschungsvorhaben haben sich bislang den mittel- bis langfristigen Auswirkungen studentischer Auslandsaufenthalte gewidmet; die bisherige Datenlage deutet jedoch darauf hin, dass die Auswirkungen auf sprachliche Kompetenzen eher unbeständig sind, wohingegen die persönliche, studiums- und berufsbezogene Entwicklung der Lernenden länger von einem Auslandsaufenthalt beeinflusst wird. Die Dynamik und Beständigkeit derartiger Auswirkungen wurden jedoch kaum mit Blick auf kurze Auslandsaufenthalte (≤ acht Wochen) sowie aus der Perspektive der Studierenden erforscht, was die vorliegende Studie insbesondere hinsichtlich mittelfristiger Effekte fokussiert. Mittels eines qualitativen Fallstudiendesigns werden die Interviewdaten vier amerikanischer Deutschlernender untersucht, die sich vier Wochen in Österreich aufhielten und in einem Zeitraum von bis zu 40 Monaten nach ihrem Aufenthalt wiederholt befragt wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass viele Auswirkungen eines solchen Aufenthalts aus studentischer Perspektive mittelfristig verblassen, auch wenn der Auslandsaufenthalt im Gesamten weiterhin als einflussreiche Erfahrung wahrgenommen wird.

Near-Term Effects of Short-Term Study Abroad: A Longitudinal Examination of Learner Perceptions

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Effects of long-term practice and task complexity in musicians and nonmusicians performing simple and complex motor tasks: implications for cortical motor organization.

Near-Term Effects of Short-Term Study Abroad: A Longitudinal Examination of Learner Perceptions