Chronology of auditory processing and related co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex depends on musical expertise

The present study aims to explore the extent to which auditory processing is reflected in the prefrontal cortex.

Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the chronology of primary and secondary auditory responses and associated co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex in a large cohort of 162 participants of various ages. The sample consisted of 38 primary school children, 39 adolescents, 43 younger, and 42 middle-aged adults and was further divided into musically experienced participants and non-musicians by quantifying musical training and aptitude parameters.

We observed that the co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex [Brodmann-Area 10 (BA10)] strongly depended on musical expertise but not on age. In the musically experienced groups, a systematic coincidence of peak latencies of the primary auditory P1 response and the co-activated response in the orbitofrontal cortex was observed in childhood at the onset of musical education. In marked contrast, in all non-musicians, the orbitofrontal co-activation occurred 25-40 ms later when compared with the P1 response. Musical practice and musical aptitude contributed equally to the observed activation and co-activation patterns in the auditory and orbitofrontal cortex, confirming the reciprocal, interrelated influence of nature, and nurture in the musical brain.

Based on the observed ageindependent differences in the chronology and lateralization of neurological responses, we suggest that orbitofrontal functions may contribute to musical learning at an early age.