Glutamatergic neurometabolite levels in the caudate are associated with the ability of rhythm production

Shiori Honda; Yoshihiro Noda; Karin Matsushita; Ryosuke Tarumi; Natsumi Nomiyama; Sakiko Tsugawa; Yui Tobari; Nobuaki Hondo; Keisuke Saito; Masaru Mimura; Shinya Fujii; Shinichiro Nakajima

doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1196805

Glutamatergic neurometabolite levels in the caudate are associated with the ability of rhythm production

Front Neurosci. 2023 Aug 4:17:1196805. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1196805. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
² Seikeikai Komagino Hospital, Hachioji, Japan.
³ Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁴ Multimodal Imaging Group, Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Glutamatergic neurometabolites play important roles in the basal ganglia, a hub of the brain networks involved in musical rhythm processing. We aimed to investigate the relationship between rhythm processing abilities and glutamatergic neurometabolites in the caudate.

Methods: We aquired Glutamatergic function in healthy individuals employing proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We targeted the right caudate and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as a control region. Rhythm processing ability was assessed by the Harvard Beat Assessment Test (H-BAT).

Results: We found negative correlations between the production part of the Beat Saliency Test in the H-BAT and glutamate and glutamine levels in the caudate (r = -0.693, p = 0.002) whereas there was no such association in the dACC.

Conclusion: These results suggest that higher glutamatergic neurometabolite levels in the caudate may contribute to rhythm processing, especially the ability to produce meter in music precisely.

Keywords: caudate; glutamate; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; rhythm; rhythm production.