| |
Abstract:
Abstract: Auditory processing of musical sounds and
especially music imagery remains a relatively little understood
field of human cognition. Since music can have extraordinary and
varied effects on the human psyche, we explored brain activation
during music imagery based on fMRI. We employed 11 right handed
males with differing levels of professional training in music.
Nineteen contiguous axial T2* weighted gradient-echo EPI images
were obtained using a 1.5T Magnetom Siemens Vision Imager.
T1-weighted 3D volumes were acquired for anatomical localization.
Images were obtained while the subject was engaged in the mental
imagery of a musical sequence when listening to music, and during
silence (background noise) over a period of 18 seconds. Data was
acquired over three blocks and compared to baseline activation of
the cortex when the same subject focused on breathing. Activation
was visualized at a significance level of 0.01 for "imagery" versus
"focus-on-breathing" tasks. In contrast to activation due to music
presentation, activation due to music imagery was largely
restricted to small foci in the auditory cortex and the anterior
cingulate. However, activation between different subjects varied
significantly so that small areas in the left middle, frontal,
inferior and pre-central gyri were also activated. In highly
trained professionals, activation was also observed within the
thalamus and the inferior colliculus.
|
