The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music

Horizontal position (talairach coordinate z)

Dorsal

70

8

6

4

2

0

• 2
  A

A C

B

B

• 4


• 6


• 8
  Difference between left and right intrasulcal length (mm) 65 60 55 50 45 40 35

Ventral

Right>Left

Left > Right

A

B

Musicians

Nonmusicians

∗) CS

Plate 21 (A) The intrasulcal length of the posterior bank of the precentral gyrus (ILPG) was measured in
horizontal slices (parallel to the AC–PC plane) from the deepest point of the central sulcus following the contour
line of the precentral gyrus to a lateral surface tangent that connected the crests of the pre- and postcentral gyrus.
(B and C) We differentiated a dorsal and a ventral subregion. The dorsal subregion roughly corresponds to the
location of the functional hand motor area. We found prominent differences in the intrasulcal length of the
precentral gyrus in the dorsal subregion between musicians and nonmusicians. Musicians had more
symmetrical lengths which was due to a disproportional increase in length of the nondominant hemisphere.

Plate 20 Results of functional magnetic resonance imaging during anticipatory imagery of music. The axial
sections from individual subjects are displayed in radiological coordinates showing the left side of the brain on
the right and vice versa. Imagery leads to activation of anterior regions of auditory cortex in the right hemisphere
(in conjunction with right inferior frontal regions; panel on the left of the figure). This emphasizes the role of
sensory cortices in mental imagery. However, brain regions outside auditory cortex, such as the cerebellum (left
cerebellar hemisphere; middle panel) and the anterior cingulate bilaterally (right panel), are also activated,
demonstrating their role in cognitive processing.