HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Haueisen, J. Articles by Knösche, T. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Haueisen, J. Articles by Knösche, T. R.

Involuntary Motor Activity in Pianists Evoked by Music Perception

Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany

Thomas R. Knösche

Max-Planck-Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany

Pianists often report that pure listening to a well-trained piece of music can involuntarily trigger the respective finger movements. We designed a magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiment to compare the motor activation in pianists and nonpianists while listening to piano pieces. For pianists, we found a statistically significant increase of activity above the region of the contralateral motor cortex. Brain surface current density (BSCD) reconstructions revealed a spatial dissociation of this activity between notes preferably played by the thumb and the little finger according to the motor homunculus. Hence, we could demonstrate that pianists, when listening to well-trained piano music, exhibit involuntary motor activity involving the contralateral primary motor cortex (M1).

Key Words: Music perception • Involuntary motor activity • Primary motor cortex • Magnetoencephalography • Source reconstruction • Brain surface current density

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Moreno, C. Marques, A. Santos, M. Santos, S. L. Castro, and M. Besson Musical Training Influences Linguistic Abilities in 8-Year-Old Children: More Evidence for Brain Plasticity Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2008; (2008) bhn120v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Lappe, S. C. Herholz, L. J. Trainor, and C. Pantev Cortical Plasticity Induced by Short-Term Unimodal and Multimodal Musical Training J. Neurosci., September 24, 2008; 28(39): 9632 - 9639. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. B. HOSTETTER and M. W. ALIBALI Visible embodiment: Gestures as simulated action Psychon Bull Rev, June 1, 2008; 15(3): 495 - 514. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. L. Chen, V. B. Penhune, and R. J. Zatorre Listening to Musical Rhythms Recruits Motor Regions of the Brain Cereb Cortex, April 3, 2008; (2008) bhn042v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]