Resting-state functional connectivity in lifelong musicians

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Musicianship is theorized to enhance brain and cognitive reserve.
• Neural mechanisms underlying this effect remain poorly understood.
• Lifelong musicianship offers a unique model to study brain network differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate resting-state functional networks (FNs) in lifelong active musicians.
• Compare FNs between musicians and matched healthy controls using fMRI.
• Examine age-related differences in functional network connectivity (FNC).

Main Methods:

• Derived FNs using independent component analysis.
• Analyzed FNC between default mode (DMN), sensory-motor (SMN), visual (VSN), and auditory (AUN) networks.
• Assessed age-trajectories of FNC using linear regressions.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in age-related FNC trajectories were observed between musicians and controls (P=0.013).
• Musicians exhibited increased average FNC with age, while controls showed a decrease.
• Specific FNCs (DMN-AUN, DMN-VSN, SMN-VSN) increased with age in musicians.

Conclusions:

• Provides preliminary evidence that lifelong musicianship may enhance brain and cognitive reserve.
• Suggests distinct age-related functional network changes in musicians.
• Highlights the need for replication with larger cohorts.