Playing an instrument improves audio-motor connectivity

Playing an instrument improves audio-motor connectivity

According to a study, people who practice music training that requires both hands have greater independence from both

   Playing a musical instrument throughout life improves the connection between the hearing area and the motor area, according to a study by researchers from the Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging group of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) of Castelló and the McGill University of Canada.

According to UJI sources, the research, carried out through the analysis of the resting brain of musicians and non-musicians using functional magnetic resonance, has also revealed that musicians who play an instrument that requires both hands present a greater autonomy between them .

   The study, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, has focused on music to understand how the function and structure of the brain can be modified through learning.

Although most people have neural systems that allow them to listen to music and dance or sing, playing a musical instrument at a professional level is a complex task that is achieved with years of practice. The research shows some of the effects that musical training has on the structure and function of the brain.

The study findings
Researchers at the UJI, together with Robert J. Zatorre of the McGill University of Canada and in collaboration with the ERESA company of Valencia, investigated the impact of musical training on the brain through both structural and functional images of the brain at rest taken through high field magnetic resonance.

"Functional magnetic resonance imaging in the resting state, that is, in the absence of external stimuli, is a new brain exploration methodology that is revealing interesting data on how the brain works when it is active and that allows studying the effects of learning on the brain. brain ", has highlighted César Ávila, professor at the Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical and Psychobiology of the Jaume I.

One of the main findings of the study has been to verify that musical training produces an increase in audio-motor interactions in the right hemisphere at rest.

"This indicates that when a musician trains and spends many years learning to play an instrument, more effective connections are produced between the auditory and motor systems, which are the regions mainly involved in playing an instrument", explained María Ángeles Palomar-García, Doctor in Psychology and researcher of the Jaume I.

The research also showed an adaptation in the brain of the musicians in the brain areas in charge of controlling the movements of the hands.

Specifically, they saw that the participants with musical training had reduced connectivity between the motor regions that control both hands.

This, as María Ángeles Palomar-García explains, "may reflect greater skill with both hands for these musicians compared to the participants who did not have musical training due to the need to use both hands in an independent and coordinated way to play their instrument "

The tests also showed that in the case of musicians who played an instrument that only requires a hand to play, as is the trumpet, his skill with both hands was the same as that of the group that had no musical training.

"In addition, participants who have practiced more with their musical instrument have greater independence between both hands, " said María Ángeles Palomar-García.

Therefore, the more you play a musical instrument that requires bimanual movements, the greater the independence between the spontaneous activity of each hand, which will allow you to play your musical instrument better