Skip to main content

A Protective Effect of Musical Expertise on Cognitive Outcome Following Brain Damage?

Neuropsychology Review volume 24, pages 445–460 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The current review examines the possibility that training-related changes that take place in the brains of musicians may have a beneficial effect on their cognitive outcome and recovery following neurological damage. First, we propose three different mechanisms by which training-related brain changes might result in relatively preserved function in musicians as compared to non-musicians with cerebral lesions. Next, we review the neuropsychological literature examining musical ability in professional musicians following brain damage, specifically of vascular, tumoral and epileptic aetiology. Finally, given that assessment of musician patients can greatly inform our understanding of the influence of premorbid experience on postmorbid recovery, we suggest some basic guidelines for the future evaluation of relevant patients.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. In line with the evidence of double dissociation of musical and language cognitive abilities, cases of loss of language ability without any loss in musical ability are also seen (8 patients).

  2. Although these cases are in the left hemisphere, it is important to note that left hemisphere damage can cause deficits as evidenced by the fact that all but 4 of the 20 previously reported to have impairments showed their deficits after damage to the left cerebral hemisphere. Why so few cases of right hemisphere damage have been reported is not clear.

  3. In those with temporal lobe epilepsy, cortical regions adjacent to the site of the foci are often depressed leading to a worsening of cognitive ability. As suggested by Zatorre (1989), the improved performance afterwards may be explained by the removal of the epileptogenic focus which results in less cortical interference over the brain.

  4. As suggested by the authors, and as with Zatorre (1989) improvements reported by these patients are likely due to the disappearance of seizures and consequently the functional recovery of regions depressed by the epileptogenic focus.

References

  • Abraham, W. C., & Bear, M. F. (1996). Metaplasticity: the plasticity of synaptic plasticity. Trends in Neuroscience, 19, 126–130.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alajouanine, T. (1948). Aphasia and artistic realization. Brain, 71, 229–241.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Assal, G. (1973). Aphasie de Wernicke sans amusie chez un pianiste. Revue Neurologique, 129, 251–255.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Assal, G., & Buttet, J. (1983). Agraphie et conservation de l’écriture musicale chez un professeur de piano bilingue. Revue Neurologique, 139, 569–574.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Basser, P. J., & Jones, D. K. (2002). Diffusion-tensor MRI: theory, experimental design and data analysis - a technical review. NMR in Biomedicine, 15, 456–467.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Basso, A., & Capitani, E. (1985). Spared musical abilities in a conductor with global aphasia and ideomotor apraxia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 48, 407–412.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson, S. L., Nagy, Z., Skare, S., Forsman, L., Forssberg, H., & Ullen, F. (2005). Extensive piano practicing has regionally specific effects on white matter development. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 1148–1150.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benton, A. L. (1977). The amusias. In M. Critchley & R. A. Henson (Eds.), Music and the brain: studies in the neurology of music (pp. 378–397). London: Heinemann Medical.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besson, M., Chobert, J. & Marie, C. (2011). Transfer of training between music and speech: common processing, attention and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 2.

  • Bever, T. G., & Chiarello, R. J. (1974). Cerebral dominance in musicians and nonmusicians. Science, 185, 537–539.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E., & Depape, A. M. (2009). Musical expertise, bilingualism, and executive functioning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35, 565–574.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bignami, G., Carro-Ciampi, G., & Albert, M. (1968). Effects of frontal lesion on ‘go-no go’avoidance behaviour in normal and scopolamine-treated rats. Physiology and Behavior, 3, 487–494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogousslavsky, J., & Boller, F. (2005). Neurological disorders in famous artists. Basel: Karger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boller, F., Sinforiani, E., & Mazzuchi, A. (2005). Preserved painting abilities after a stroke. The case of Paul-Elie Gernez. Functional Neurology, 20, 151–155.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Botez, M., & Wertheim, N. (1959). Expressive aphasia and amusia following a right frontal lesion in a right handed man. Brain, 82, 186–202.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brust, J. C. M. (1980). Music and language: musical alexia and agraphia. Brain, 103, 367–392.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cappelletti, M., Waley-Cohen, H., Butterworth, B., & Kopelman, M. (2000). A selective loss of the ability to read and to write music. Neurocase, 6, 321–332.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catani, M., & Mesulam, M. (2008). The arcuate fasciculus, and the disconnection theme in language, and aphasia: history and current state. Cortex, 44, 953–961.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Celesia, G. G. (1976). Organization of auditory cortical areas in man. Brain, 99, 403–314.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, A. S., Ho, Y. C., & Cheung, M. C. (1998). Music training improves verbal memory. Nature, 396, 128.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, A. (2004). The neuropsychology of visual artistic production. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1568–1583.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chow, K. L., & Survis, J. (1958). Retention of overlearned visual habit after temporal ablation in the monkey. Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 79, 640–646.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeNora, T. (2000). Music in everyday life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desmurget, M., Bonnetblanc, F., & Duffau, H. (2007). Contrasting acute and slow-growing lesions: a new door to brain plasticity. Brain, 130, 898–914.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Di Pietro, M., Laganaro, M., Leemann, B., & Schnider, A. (2004). Receptive amusia: temporal auditory processing deficit in a professional musician following a left temporo-parietal lesion. Neuropsychologia, 42, 868–877.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Draganski, B., & May, A. (2008). Training-induced structural changes in the adult human brain. Behavioural Brain Research, 192, 137–142.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, V., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427, 311–312.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drayna, D., Manichaikul, A., de Lange, M., Snieder, H., & Spector, T. (2001). Genetic correlates of musical pitch recognition in humans. Science, 291, 1969–1972.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Driemeyer, J., Boyke, J., Gaser, C., Buchel, C., & May, A. (2008). Changes in gray matter induced by learning- revisited. PLoS ONE, 3, e2669.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duffau, H., Capelle, L., Lopes, M., Bitar, A., Sichez, J. P., & van Effenterre, R. (2002). Medically intractable epilepsy from insular low-grade gliomas: improvement after an extended lesionectomy. Acta Neurochirurgica, 144, 563–72.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eagleman, D. M., Kagan, A. D., Nelson, S. S., Sagaram, D., & Sarma, A. K. (2007). A standardized test battery for the study of synesthesia. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 159, 139–145.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlé, N., & Samson, S. (2005). Auditory discrimination of anisochrony: influence of the tempo and musical backgrounds of listeners. Brain and Cognition, 58, 133–147.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elbert, T., Pantev, C., Wienbruch, C., Rockstroh, B., & Taub, E. (1995). Increased cortical representation of the fingers of the left hand in string players. Science, 270, 305–307.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia, N., Benoit C., Harding, E., Kotz, S., & Dalla Bella, S. (2012). BAASTA: Battery of Assesment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities. Conference proceedings in International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC’10), Thessaloniki, Greece.

  • Fasanaro, A. M., Spitaleri, D. L., Valiani, R., & Grozzi, D. (1990). Dissociation in musical reading: a musician affected by alexia without agraphia. Music Perception, 7, 259–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fauvel, B., Groussard, M., Eustache, F., Desgranges, B., & Platel, H. (2013). Neural implementation of musical expertise and cognitive transfers: could they be promising in the framework of normal cognitive ageing? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 693.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Filipic, S., Tillmann, B., & Bigand, E. (2010). Judging familiarity and emotion from very brief musical excerpts. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17, 335––341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finke, C., Esfahani, N. E., & Ploner, C. J. (2012). Preservation of musical memory in an amnesic professional cellist. Current Biology, 22, 591–R592.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, N. E., & Zatorre, R. J. (2010). Cortical structure predicts success in performing musical transformation judgments. NeuroImage, 53, 26–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, N. E., Halpern, A. R., & Zatorre, R. J. (2013). Common parietal activation in musical mental transformations across pitch and time. NeuroImage, 75, 27–35.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Galarza, M., Pellicer-Porcar, O., Isaac, C., Mayes, A., Broks, P., Montaldi, D., Denby, C., & Simeone, F. (2014). Jazz guitar and neurosurgery: an unusual case of left temporal. World Neurosurgery, 81, 651–657.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaser, C., & Schlaug, G. (2003). Gray matter differences between musicians and nonmusicians. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 514–517.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, E. E. (1989). Manual for the advanced measures of music audiation. Chicago: G.I.A. Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habibi, A., Wirantana, V., & Starr, A. (2013). Cortical activity during perception of musical pitch: comparing musicians and nonmusicians. Music Perception, 30, 463–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, A. R., Zatorre, R. J., Bouffard, M., & Johnson, J. (2004). Behavioral and neural correlates of perceived and imagined musical timbre. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1281–1292.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halwani, G. F., Loui, P., Ruber, T., & Schlaug, G. (2011). Effects of practice and experience on the arcuate fasciculus: comparing singers, instrumentalists and non-musicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 156.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert, S., & Cuddy, L. L. (2006). Music reading deficiencies and the brain. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 2, 199–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hébert, S., Racette, A., Gagnon, L., & Peretz, I. (2003). Revisiting the dissociation between singing and speaking in expressive aphasia. Brain, 126, 1838–1850.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herholz, S. C., & Zatorre, R. J. (2012). Musical training as a framework for brain plasticity: behavior, function and structure. Neuron, 76, 486–502.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horikoshi, T., Asari, Y., Watanabe, A., Nagaseki, Y., Nukui, H., Sasaki, H., & Komiya, K. (1997). Music alexia in a patient with mild pure alexia: disturbed visual perception of nonverbal meaningful figures. Cortex, 33, 187–194.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, S., Hui-Lin Lee, L., Gaab, N., & Schlaug, G. (2003). Cerebellar volume of musicians. Cerebral Cortex, 13, 943–949.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, K. L., Zatorre, R. J., Griffiths, T. D., Lerch, J. P., & Peretz, I. (2006). Morphometry of the amusic brain: a two-site study. Brain, 129, 2562–2570.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, K. L., Lerch, J., Norton, A., Forgeard, M., Winner, E., Evans, A. C., & Schlaug, G. (2009). Musical training shapes structural brain development. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 3019–3025.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, H. (1932). Selected writings of John Hughlings Jackson (Vol. 2). London: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jancke, L., Koeneke, S., Hoppe, A., Rominger, C., & Hanggi, J. (2009). The architecture of the golfer’s brain. PLoS ONE, 4, e4785.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jellinek, A. (1956). Amusia: on the phenomenology and investigation of central disorders of the musical functions. Folia Phoniatrica, 8, 124–149.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen-Berg, H. (2010). Behavioural relevance of variation in white matter microstructure. Current Opinion in Neurology, 23, 351–358.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen-Berg, H., & Behrens, T. E. J. (2009). Diffusion MRI: from quantitative measurement to in vivo neuroanatomy. London: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen-Berg, H., Scholz, J., & Stagg, C. (2010). Relevance of structural brain connectivity to learning and recovery from stroke. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 4, 146.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Judd, T. L., Arslanian, A., Davidson, L., Locke, S., & Lickel, H. (1979). A right hemisphere stroke in a composer. Paper presented at the International. New York: Neuropsychological society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd, T., Gardner, H., & Geshwind, N. (1983). Alexia without agraphia in a composer. Brain, 106, 435–457.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaernbach. (1991). Simple adaptive testing with the weighted up-down method. Perception & Psychophysics, 47, 227–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzman, R. (1993). Education and the prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology, 43, 13–20.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kawamura, M., Midorikawa, A., & Kezuka, M. (2000). Cerebral localization of the center for reading and writing music. Neuroreport, 11, 3299–3303.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, J. P., Thangaraj, V., Halpern, A. R., & Schlaug, G. (2001). Absolute pitch and planum temporale. NeuroImage, 14, 1402–1408.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kester, D. B., Saykin, A. J., Sperling, M. R., O’Connor, M. J., Robinson, L. J., & Gur, R. C. (1991). Acute effect of anterior temporal lobectomy on musical processing. Neuropsychologia, 29, 703–708.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lechevalier, B., Lambert, J., Moreau, S., Platel, H., & Viader, F. (2007). Auditory disorders related to strokes. In O. Godefroy & J. Bogousslavsky (Eds.), The behavioral and cognitive neurology of stroke (pp. 348–368). NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, H. S., & Rose, J. E. (1979). Alexia without agraphia in a musician after transcallosal removal of a left intraventricular meningioma. Neurosurgery, 4, 168–174.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liégeois-Chauvel, C., Musolino, A., & Chauvel, P. (1991). Localization of the primary auditory area in man. Brain, 114, 139–51.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liégeois-Chauvel, C., Peretz, I., Babaï, M., Laguitton, V., & Chauvel, P. (1998). Contribution of different cortical areas in the temporal lobes to music processing. Brain, 121, 1853–1867.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loui, P., Aslop, D., & Schlaug, G. (2009). Tone deafness: a new disconnection syndrome? Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 10215–10220.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luria, A. R., Tsvetkova, L. S., & Futer, D. S. (1965). Aphasia in a composer. Journal of Neurological Sciences, 2, 288–292.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, M. J. (2012). Music and epilepy: a critical review. Epilepsia, 53, 947–961.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnsrude, I. S., Good, C. D., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., & Frith, C. D. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97, 4398–4403.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maldjian, J., Atlas, S. W., Howard, R. S., Greenstein, E., Alsop, D., & Detre, J. A. (1996). Functional magnetic resonance imaging of regional brain activity in patients with intracerebral arteriovenous malformations before surgical or endovascular therapy. Journal of Neurosurgery, 84, 477–83.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marin, O. S. M., & Perry, D. W. (1999). Neurological aspects of music perception and performance. In D. Deutsch (Ed.), The psychology of music (pp. 653–724). San Diego: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mavlov, L. (1980). Amusia due to rhythm agnosia in a musician with left hemisphere damage: a non-auditory supramodal defect. Cortex, 16, 331–338.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McFarland, H. R., & Fortin, D. (1982). Amusia due to right temporoparietal infarct. Archives of Neurology, 39, 725–727.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Midorikawa, A., & Kawamura, M. (2000). A case of musical agraphia. Neuroreport, 11, 3053–3057.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Midorikawa, A., Kawamura, M., & Kezuka, M. (2003). Musical alexia for rhythm notation: a discrepancy between pitch and rhythm. Neurocase, 9, 232–238.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Milner, B. (1962). Laterality effects in audition. In V. B. Mountcastle (Ed.), Interhemispheric relations and spherical dominance (pp. 177–185). Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mogensen, J. (2011). Reorganisation of the injured brain: implications for studies of the neural substrate of cognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mogensen, J., & Malá, H. (2009). Post-traumatic functional recovery and reorganization in animal models.: a theoretical and methodological challenge. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50, 561–573.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, S., Bialystok, E., Barac, R., Schellenberg, E. G., Cepeda, N. J., & Chau, T. (2011). Short-term music training enhances verbal intelligence and executive function. Psychological Science, 22, 1425–1433.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer, J. A., Schuman, L., & French, L. (1981). Epidemiology of dementing illness. In J. A. Mortimer & L. M. Schuman (Eds.), The epidemiology of dementia: monographs in epidemiology and biostatistics (pp. 323–333). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munte, T. F., Altenmuller, E., & Jancke, L. (2002). The musicians brain as a model of neuroplasticity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3, 473–478.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ohnishi, T., Matsuda, H., Asada, T., Aruga, M., Hirakata, M., Nishikawa, M., Katoh, A., & Imabayashi, E. (2011). Functional anatomy of musical perception in musicians. Cerebral Cortex, 11, 754–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orbach, J., & Fantz, R. L. (1958). Differential aspects of temporal neocortical resections on overtrained and non-overtrained visual habits in monkeys. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 51, 126–129.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Penhune, V. (2011). Sensitive periods in human development: evidence from musical training. Cortex, 47, 1126–1137.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peretz, I., & Babai, M. (1992). The role of contour and intervals in the recognition of melody parts: evidence from cerebral asymmetries in musicians. Neuropsychologia, 30, 277–292.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peretz, I., & Morais, J. (1980). Modes of processing melodies and ear asymmetry in non-musicians. Neuropsychologia, 20, 447–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peretz, I., Champod, A. S., & Hyde, K. (2003). Varieties of musical disorders. The montreal battery of evaluation of Amusia. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 58–75.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peretz, I., Gagnon, L., Hébert, S., & Macoir, J. (2004). Singing in the brain: Insights from cognitive neuropsychology. Music Perception, 21, 373–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ragert, P., Schmidt, A., Altenmuller, E., & Dinse, H. R. (2004). Superior tactile performance and learning in professional pianists: evidence for metaplasticity in musicians. European Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 473–478.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramon y Cajal, S. (1904/1999). Texture of the nervous system of man and the vertebrates. New York: Springer-Verlag. (Translated and edited from Textura del Sistema Nervioso del Hombre y de los Vertebrados, Moya, Madrid, Spain by P. Pasik and T. Pasik).

  • Rose, F. C. (2004). Neurology of the arts: painting, music, literature. London: Imperial College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenkranz, K., Williamon, A., & Rothwell, J. C. (2007). Motorcortical excitability and synaptic plasticity is enhanced in professional musicians. Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 5200–5206.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenow, F., & Luders, H.O. (2004). Overview. In Rosenow F., Luders H. O., (eds) Presurgical assessment of the epilepsies with clinical neurophysiology and functional imaging. In Daube JF, Mauguire F, editors. Handbook of clinical neurophysiology. Amsterdam: Elsevier; Vol. 3, p 3–7.

  • Russell, S. M., & Golfinos, J. G. (2003). Amusia following resection of a Heschl gyrus glioma. Journal of Neurosurgery, 98, 1109–1112.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samson, S. (1999). Musical function and temporal lobe structures: a review of brain lesion studies. Journal of New Music Research, 28, 217–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samson, S., & Zatorre, R. J. (1988). Melodic and harmonic discrimination following unilateral cerebral excision. Brain and Cognition, 7, 348–60.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samson, S., & Zatorre, R. J. (1992). Learning and retention of melodic and verbal information after unilateral temporal lobectomy. Neuropsychologia, 30, 815–826.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samson, S., & Zatorre, R. J. (1994). Contribution of the right temporal lobe to musical timbre discrimination. Neuropsychologia, 32, 231–40.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samson, S., Baird, A., Moussard, A., & Clément, S. (2012). Does pathological aging affect musical learning and memory? Music Perception, 29, 493–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Särkämö, T., Tervaniemi, M., Soinila, S., Autti, T., Silvennoinen, H. M., Laine, M., & Hietanen, M. (2009). Cognitive deficits associated with acquired amusia after stroke: a neuropsychological follow-up study. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2642–2651.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Satz, P. (1993). Brain reserve capacity on symptom onset after brain injury: a formulation and review of evidence for threshold theory. Neuropsychology, 7, 273–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schellenberg, E. G. (2004). Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychological Science, 15, 511–514.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schellenberg, E. G. (2006). Long-term positive associations between music lessons and IQ. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 457–468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlaug, G. (2001). The brain of musicians. A model for functional and structural adaptation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 930, 281–299.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., Staiger, J. F., & Steinmetz, H. (1995). Increased corpus callosum size in musicians. Neuropsychologia, 33, 1047–1055.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, P., Scherg, M., Dosch, H. G., Specht, H. J., Gutschalk, A., & Rupp, A. (2002). Morphology of Heschl’s gyrus reflects enhanced activation in the auditory cortex of musicians. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 688–694.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D., Semenza, C., & Denes, G. (2001). Naming of musical notes: a selective deficit in one musical clef. Cortex, 37, 407–421.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, R., Horstmann, S., Jokeit, H., Woermann, F. G., & Ebner, A. (2005). Epilepsy surgery in professional musicians: subjective and objective reports of three cases. Epilepsy & Behavior, 7, 552–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Signoret, J. L., Van Eeckhout, P., Poncet, M., & Castaigne, P. (1987). Aphasie sans amusie chez un organiste aveugle. Revue Neurologique, 143, 172–181.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Souques, A., & Baruk, H. (1926). Un cas d’amusie chez un professeur de piano. Revue Neurologique, 33, 179–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Souques, A., & Baruk, H. (1930). Autopsie d’un cas d’amusie (avec aphasie) chez un professeur de piano. Revue Neurologique, 37, 545–557.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanzione, M., Grossi, D., & Roberto, L. (1990). Note-by-note music reading: a musician with letter by letter reading. Perception, 7, 273–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, Y. (2002). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the research concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 448–460.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, Y. (2006). Cognitive reserve and Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 20, 69–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, Y., Habeck, C., Moeller, J., Scarmeas, N., Anderson, K. E., Hilton, H. J., et al. (2005). Brain networks associated with cognitive reserve in healthy young and old adults. Cerebral Cortex, 15, 394–402.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, L., Von Kriegstein, K., Warren, J. D., & Griffiths, T. D. (2006). Music and the brain: disorders of musical listening. Brain, 129, 2533–2553.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tatemichi, T. K., Desmond, D. W., Stern, Y., Paik, M., Sano, M., & Bagiella, E. (1994). Cognitive impairment after stroke: frequency, patterns, and relationship to functional abilities. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Neuropsychiatry with Practical Neurology, 57, 202–207.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Terao, Y., Mizuno, T., Shindoh, M., Sakurai, Y., Ugawa, Y., Kobayashi, S., et al. (2006). Vocal amusia in a professional tango singer due to a right superior temporal cortex infarction. Neuropsychologia, 44, 479–488.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tzortzis, C., Goldblum, M. C., Dang, M., Forette, F., & Boller, F. (2000). Absence of amusia and preserved naming of musical instruments in an aphasic composer. Cortex, 36, 227–242.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vieillard, S., Peretz, I., Gosselin, N., Khalfa, S., Gagnon, L., & Bouchard, B. (2008). Happy, sad, scary and peaceful musical excerpts for research on emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 22, 720–752.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, W., & Burns, E. (1982). Absolute pitch. In D. Deutsch (Ed.), The psychology of music (pp. 431–451). New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe, D., Savion-Lemieux, T., & Penhune, V. B. (2007). The effect of early musical training on adult motor performance: evidence for a sensitive period in motor learning. Experimental Brain Research, 176, 332–340.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weese, G. D., Neiman, D., & Finger, S. (1973). Cortical lesions and somesthesis in rats: effects of training and overtraining prior to surgery. Experimental Brain Research, 16, 542–550.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wertheim, N., & Botez, M. I. (1961). Receptive amusia: a clinical analysis. Brain, 84, 19–30.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. J., & Saling, M. M. (2008). Contributions of the left and right mesial temporal lobes to music memory: evidence from melodic learning difficulties. Music Perception, 25, 303–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. J., Pressing, J. L., & Wales, R.J. (2002). Modelling rhythmic function in a musician post stroke. Neuropsychologia. 1494–1505.

  • Wilson, S. J., Parsons, K., & Reutens, D. C. (2006). Preserved singing in aphasia: a case study of the efficacy of the melodic intonation therapy. Music Perception, 24, 23–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. J., Abbott, D. F., Tailby, C., Gentle, E. C., Merrett, D. L., & Jackson, G. D. (2013). Changes in singing performance and fMRI activation following right temporal lobe surgery. Cortex, 49, 2512–2524.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, I. C., McGuire, P. K., Poline, J. B., Travere, J. M., Murray, R. M., Frith, C. D., Frackowiak, R. S., & Friston, K. J. (1995). A voxel-based method for the statistical analysis of gray and white matter density applied to schizophrenia. NeuroImage, 2, 244–252.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaidel, D. W. (2005). Neuropsychology of art: neurological, cognitive, and evolutionary perspectives. UK: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaidel, D. W. (2010). Art and brain: insights from neuropsychology, biology and evolution. Journal of Anatomy, 216, 177–183.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaidel, D. W. (2013). Art and brain; the relationship of biology and evolution to art. Progress in Brain Research, 204, 217–233.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J. (1985). Discrimination and recognition of tonal melodies after unilateral cerebral excisions. Neuropsychologia, 23, 31–41.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J. (1989). Intact absolute pitch ability after left temporal lobectomy. Cortex, 25, 567–580.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J., & Beckett, C. (1989). Multiple coding strategies in the retention of musical tones by possessors of absolute pitch. Memory and Cognition, 17, 582–589.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J., & Halpern, A. (1993). Effect of unilateral temporal lobe excision in perception and imagery of songs. Neuropsychologia, 31, 221–232.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J., & Samson, S. (1991). Role of the right temporal neocortex in retention of pitch in auditory short-term memory. Brain, 114, 2403–2417.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J., Halpern, A. R., & Bouffard, M. (2010). Mental reversal of imagined melodies: a role for the posterior parietal cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22, 775–789.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zatorre, R. J., Fields, R. D., & Johansenberg, H. (2012). Plasticity in gray and white: neuroimaging changes in brain structure during learning. Nature Neuroscience, 15, 528–536.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study has received funding from the French Ministry (ANR-09-BLAN-0310-02), the Fondation Plan Alzheimer and the Institut Universitaire de France to S.S.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Neurosciences Fonctionnelles et Pathologies, EA4559, Université de Lille, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France

    Diana Omigie & Severine Samson

  2. Unité d’Epilepsie, GHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

    Severine Samson

  3. Centre de Recherche de l’Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CRICM), UMR_S 975, and Centre MEG-EEG - CENIR, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Paris, France

    Diana Omigie

  4. CNRS, UMR 7225, CRICM and Centre MEG-EEG, Paris, France

    Diana Omigie

  5. Inserm, U 975, CRICM and Centre MEG-EEG, Paris, France

    Diana Omigie

  6. CRICM, UMR7225 / U975, CNRS / UPMC / Inserm, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moëlle Épinière (ICM), GHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Boulevard de l’Hopital, Paris, France, 75013

    Diana Omigie

  7. Music Department, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Diana Omigie

Authors
  1. Diana Omigie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Severine Samson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana Omigie.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Omigie, D., Samson, S. A Protective Effect of Musical Expertise on Cognitive Outcome Following Brain Damage?. Neuropsychol Rev 24, 445–460 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-014-9274-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-014-9274-5

Keywords

  • Musicians
  • Brain damage
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Lesion
  • Training
  • Cognitive outcome