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 Haslinger, B. Articles by Ceballos-Baumann, A. O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Haslinger, B. Articles by Ceballos-Baumann, A. O.

Transmodal Sensorimotor Networks during Action Observation in Professional Pianists

TU München, Munich, Germany

E. Altenmüller

Institut für Musikphysiologie und Musiker-Medizin, Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hannover, Germany

U. Schroeder, H. Boecker and A. O. Ceballos-Baumann

TU München, Munich, Germany

Audiovisual perception and imitation are essential for musical learning and skill acquisition. We compared professional pianists to musically naive controls with fMRI while observing piano playing finger–hand movements and serial finger–thumb opposition movements both with and without synchronous piano sound. Pianists showed stronger activations within a fronto-parieto-temporal network while observing piano playing compared to controls and contrasted to perception of serial finger–thumb opposition movements. Observation of silent piano playing additionally recruited auditory areas in pianists. Perception of piano sounds coupled with serial finger–thumb opposition movements evoked increased activation within the sensorimotor network. This indicates specialization of multimodal auditory–sensorimotor systems within a fronto-parieto-temporal network by professional musical training. Musical "language," which is acquired by observation and imitation, seems to be tightly coupled to this network in accord with an observation–execution system linking visual and auditory perception to motor performance.

Key Words: Sensorimotor • observation • mirror network • music • fMRI • plasticity

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Baumann, M. Meyer, and L. Jancke Enhancement of Auditory-evoked Potentials in Musicians Reflects an Influence of Expertise but not Selective Attention J. Cogn. Neurosci., December 1, 2008; 20(12): 2238 - 2249. [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]

				I. Dinstein, U. Hasson, N. Rubin, and D. J. Heeger Brain Areas Selective for Both Observed and Executed Movements J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2007; 98(3): 1415 - 1427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Lahav, E. Saltzman, and G. Schlaug Action Representation of Sound: Audiomotor Recognition Network While Listening to Newly Acquired Actions J. Neurosci., January 10, 2007; 27(2): 308 - 314. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Molnar-Szakacs and K. Overy Music and mirror neurons: from motion to 'e'motion Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, December 1, 2006; 1(3): 235 - 241. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]