Ihssan Abdul-Kareem1, Andrej Stancak2,
Laura Parkes3, Vanessa Sluming1
1School of Health Sciences, Magnetic
Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, United Kingdom; 2Department of Psychology, University
of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; 3Department of Imaging
Science and Biomedical Engineering, School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences,
University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Musicians
brains have long been studied for possible structural brain differences in
response to skill acquisition. Brocas region is crucial for several
musically relevant abilities. We compare manual gray and white matter volume
measurements and automatic cortical surface area measurements of Brocas
region subparts: pars opercularis (POP) and pars triangularis between 26
musicians and 26 non-musicians, all right handed. Musicians have significantly
increased gray matter volume and cortical surface area of left POP which was
positively correlated with years of musical performance. We hypothesize that
prolonged skill acquisition is an environmentally enriching activity
resulting in structural reorganization of left POP.