Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
A study published in Human Brain Mapping suggests that long-term vocal and piano training can improve white matter plasticity in emotion and language networks, and strengthen connections among emotion-related regions of the brain. Vocal training in particular reshaped the vocal motor control, sensory feedback, and language processing networks.
The study was conducted by Li-Kai Cheng, Yu-Hsien Chiu, Ying-Chia Lin, Wei-Chi Li, Tzu-Yi Hong, Ching-Ju Yang, Chung-Heng Shih, Tzu-Chen Yeh, Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng, Hsin-Yen Yu, Jen-Chuen Hsieh, Li-Fen Chen from the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan.
Why is neuro-plasticity important?
Through neuro-plasticity, the brain is constantly rewiring itself and modifying its connections in order to perform effectively: to learn, develop and form memories. Many studies have reported that long-term musical training can affect this aspect of brain functionality and induce structural alterations in the brain, but there’s been little research in this area on vocalists.
The study involved 95 adult vocalists, pianists and non-musician control participants. It used MRI scans of the participants brains, along with graph theory and statistical analysis.
What were the results?
The results revealed that musical training (both voice and piano) could enhance connectivity among emotion-related regions of the brain, such as the amygdala. It also discovered that voice training reshaped the architecture of ‘experience-dependent networks’, such as those involved in vocal motor control, sensory feedback, and language processing. It appears that vocal-related changes in areas such as the insula, paracentral lobule, supramarginal gyrus, and putamen are associated with functional segregation, multisensory integration, and enhanced network interconnectivity.
These results suggest that long-term musical training can strengthen or prune white matter connectivity networks in different ways, depending on the type of musical training.
SOURCES:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hbm.26054
DETAILS:
| BENEFIT: | COGNITION |
| TARGET GROUP: | ADULTS |
| AGE: | UNKNOWN |
| MUSIC TYPE: | SINGING, PIANO |
| TYPE OF STUDY: | BRAIN SCANNING, GRAPH THEORY |
| NOs INVOLVED: | 95 |
| PERIOD OF STUDY: | UNKNOWN |
| DATE: | 2022 |
| PLACE: | TAIWAN |
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