Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

In this study, we seek to investigate: (1) whether processing of music and speech recruits distinct or similar network of brain regions, and (2) whether long-term musical or theatrical training influences the neural functions in these brain regions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared the neural correlates of music and speech perception in two groups of subjects who either have had long-term musical (i.e. violinists) or theatrical (i.e. actresses) training when they listened passively to familiar and unfamiliar music and speech compared to their scrambled counterparts. We found bilateral activations along the superior temporal gyri that are common for speech and music compared to their scrambled counterparts. In addition, we identified greater magnitude of activations along the left middle temporal gyrus when unfamiliar speech was compared to unfamiliar music in both violinists and actresses. We found activation that was associated with auditory-motor integration in violinists compared to actresses, when familiar and unfamiliar music was compared to familiar and unfamiliar speech. Taken together, findings from the present study indicate that there are no macro-anatomical structures that are dedicated to speech and music processing and brain changes associated with practice are influenced by long-term experience in different classes of sounds.