Music Reward Sensitivity Associated With Frontostriatal Function and Structure in Congenital Amusia.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Psychology

Background:

• Congenital amusia is a neurodevelopmental disorder impacting musical abilities.
• Music reward sensitivity has known functional and structural bases.
• The specific neural mechanisms of music reward sensitivity in amusia are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the resting-state functional and structural brain correlates of music reward sensitivity in individuals with congenital amusia.
• To examine how music reward sensitivity is affected in amusia across various domains like social rewards and emotional evocation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire for behavioral assessment.
• Employed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study resting-state functional and structural brain connectivity.
• Analyzed data from individuals diagnosed with congenital amusia.

Main Results:

• Individuals with amusia showed reduced sensitivity to music rewards, affecting social, emotional, and sensorimotor aspects.
• Abnormal resting-state functional activity was observed in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG).
• Altered functional and structural connectivity was found between the IFG and striatum, and specifically the nucleus accumbens (NAcc).

Conclusions:

• The cognitive and reward systems, particularly the IFG and its connections to the striatum/NAcc, play a significant role in congenital amusia.
• Altered IFG function and IFG-NAcc connectivity may underlie reduced sensorimotor sensitivity to music in amusia.
• These findings highlight the interaction between cognitive and reward pathways in developmental music disorders.