Motor Lateralization May Be Influenced by Long-Term Piano Playing Practice

Motor lateralization is viewed as anatomical or functional asymmetry of the two sides of the body. Functional motor asymmetry can be influenced by musical practice. This study explored whether piano playing experience modulates motor asymmetry and leads to an altered pattern of hand selection, reflecting an altered handedness. We asked two groups of right-handed participants-piano players and non-piano players-to reach targets in their frontal space with both arms, and we tested the motor performance of each arm on this task and then on an arm preference test. As musical practice can decrease motor asymmetry between arms, we hypothesized that participants with piano playing experience would display less interlimb asymmetry and that this, in turn, would change their arm preference pattern, compared with participants without piano playing experience. We found support for both hypotheses, and we conclude that arm selection (preference) is not biologically fixed, but, rather, can be modulated through long-term piano playing.