Musicianship-Related Structural and Functional Cortical Features Are Preserved in Elderly Musicians

Oana G Rus-Oswald; Jan Benner; Julia Reinhardt; Céline Bürki; Markus Christiner; Elke Hofmann; Peter Schneider; Christoph Stippich; Reto W Kressig; Maria Blatow

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.807971

Musicianship-Related Structural and Functional Cortical Features Are Preserved in Elderly Musicians

Front Aging Neurosci. 2022 Mar 25:14:807971. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.807971. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Oana G Rus-Oswald^{1

2}, Jan Benner³, Julia Reinhardt^{1

4

5

6}, Céline Bürki², Markus Christiner^{7

8}, Elke Hofmann⁹, Peter Schneider^{3

7

8}, Christoph Stippich¹⁰, Reto W Kressig², Maria Blatow¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
² University Department of Geriatric Medicine FELIX PLATTER, Basel, Switzerland.
³ Department of Neuroradiology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁴ Division of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research Institute Basel, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Hospital of Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁷ Centre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁸ Vitols Jazeps Latvian Academy of Music, Riga, Latvia.
⁹ Academy of Music, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Basel, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Department of Neuroradiology and Radiology, Kliniken Schmieder, Allensbach, Germany.
¹¹ Section of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neurocenter, Cantonal Hospital Lucerne, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: Professional musicians are a model population for exploring basic auditory function, sensorimotor and multisensory integration, and training-induced neuroplasticity. The brain of musicians exhibits distinct structural and functional cortical features; however, little is known about how these features evolve during aging. This multiparametric study aimed to examine the functional and structural neural correlates of lifelong musical practice in elderly professional musicians.

Methods: Sixteen young musicians, 16 elderly musicians (age >70), and 15 elderly non-musicians participated in the study. We assessed gray matter metrics at the whole-brain and region of interest (ROI) levels using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the Freesurfer automatic segmentation and reconstruction pipeline. We used BrainVoyager semiautomated segmentation to explore individual auditory cortex morphotypes. Furthermore, we evaluated functional blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activations in auditory and non-auditory regions by functional MRI (fMRI) with an attentive tone-listening task. Finally, we performed discriminant function analyses based on structural and functional ROIs.

Results: A general reduction of gray matter metrics distinguished the elderly from the young subjects at the whole-brain level, corresponding to widespread natural brain atrophy. Age- and musicianship-dependent structural correlations revealed group-specific differences in several clusters including superior, middle, and inferior frontal as well as perirolandic areas. In addition, the elderly musicians exhibited increased gyrification of auditory cortex like the young musicians. During fMRI, the elderly non-musicians activated predominantly auditory regions, whereas the elderly musicians co-activated a much broader network of auditory association areas, primary and secondary motor areas, and prefrontal and parietal regions like, albeit weaker, the young musicians. Also, group-specific age- and musicianship-dependent functional correlations were observed in the frontal and parietal regions. Moreover, discriminant function analysis could separate groups with high accuracy based on a set of specific structural and functional, mainly temporal and occipital, ROIs.

Conclusion: In conclusion, despite naturally occurring senescence, the elderly musicians maintained musicianship-specific structural and functional cortical features. The identified structural and functional brain regions, discriminating elderly musicians from non-musicians, might be of relevance for the aging musicians' brain. To what extent lifelong musical activity may have a neuroprotective impact needs to be addressed further in larger longitudinal studies.

Keywords: aging; auditory cortex; elderly; fMRI; functional; musicians; musicianship; structural.