Neural Correlates of Processing Syntax in Music and ... - PubMan

Musical Training 24
the auditory domain after frequency discrimination training (see below). It may also
appear as regression of cortical representation when a certain frequency was removed
from music (Pantev & Lutkenhoner, 2000; Pantev, Wollbrink, Roberts, Engelien, &
Lutkenhoner, 1999). These effects revealed a dynamic form of neural plasticity. It may
contribute to skill acquisition and result in structural changes in cortical and sub-cortical
networks as the skill becomes more established and automatic (Pantev, 1999; Petersen,
van Mier, Fiez, & Raichle, 1998; Raichle et al., 1994).
Musical training involves complex motor, auditory and other cognitive skills. Achieving
skilled musical performance relies on extraordinary intense long-term rehearsal. It is
based on adjusting ones own movements in response to visual, auditory, and somatosensory
feedback which has to be integrated. Musicians are required to translate musical
symbols into complex, sequential movements within a strictly defined temporal structure,
to memorize long musical phrases, and to identify tones without the use of a reference
tone. Due to the multimodal nature and the intensity of musical training, musicians
are ideally suited to investigate the various aspects of complex skill acquisition and to
study learning and brain plasticity (Münte et al., 2002; Schlaug, 2001). In addition to
learning itself, functional differences exhibited by brains of professional musicians may
reflect innate abilities, perhaps fostered by early exposure to musical training (Schlaug,
2001).
However, not all training-induced plasticity is beneficial. Some musicians develop a
disabling condition, e.g., focal hand dystonia or embouchure dystonia, which is considered
as example of maladaptive plasticity. 6
3.2 Skill improvement due to musical training
Expertise research evidenced that important characteristics of expert’s superior performance
are acquired through experience and practising (e.g., Ericsson, Krampe, &
Tesch-Römer, 1993). Usually, individuals require 10 or more years of preparation to
attain international-level performance (Simon & Chase, 1973; Sosniak, 1985). Maximal
levels of performance are not attained automatically by mere exposure to a domain, but
are a result of deliberate practice. In contrast to skilled activities that can be performed
by rote, most types of expertise are mediated by cognitive processes such as monitoring,
planning, reasoning, and anticipating.
6
For a more thorough discussion regarding: [1] the mechanisms of the development of dystonia, see, e.g.,
Butterworth et al. (2003); Elbert et al. (1998); Frucht et al. (2001); Hirata, Schulz, Altenmüller, Elbert,
and Pantev (2004); McKenzie, Nagarajan, Roberts, Merzenich, and Byl (2003); and Stinear and Byblow
(2004); [2] its consequences, see, e.g., Schuele and Lederman (2004); and [3] therapeutical methods to
cure this malfunction, see, e.g., Candia, Wienbruch, Elbert, Rockstroh, and Ray, (2003); Zeuner et al.,
(2002); and Zeuner and Hallett (2003).