Discrepant changes in structure-function coupling in dancers and musicians

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroplasticity

Background:

• Dance and music training are known to improve sensorimotor and cognitive functions.
• Previous research focused on structural and functional brain changes, but the relationship between these changes remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the discrepant effects of dance and music training on the brain's structure-function relationship.
• To reveal the underlying neural mechanisms of sensorimotor and cognitive enhancements.

Main Methods:

• Recruited proficient dancers, musicians, and a control group.
• Utilized a graph signal processing framework to quantify region-level and network-level structure-function relationships.
• Analyzed brain structural and functional connectivity.

Main Results:

• Both dance and music groups showed increased coupling strength in the right ventromedial putamen.
• The dance group exhibited enhanced coupling in the ventral attention network and right inferior frontal gyrus.
• Dance training led to greater functional connectivity increases between specific frontal and parietal regions compared to music training.

Conclusions:

• Dance and music training differentially affect the structure-function relationship in subcortical and cortical attention networks.
• Dance training appears to have a more significant impact on these neural networks than music training.
• Findings contribute to understanding the neural basis of sensorimotor and cognitive benefits derived from artistic training.