Chronology of auditory processing and related co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex depends on musical expertise

Steffen Bücher; Valdis Bernhofs; Andrea Thieme; Markus Christiner; Peter Schneider

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.1041397

Chronology of auditory processing and related co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex depends on musical expertise

Front Neurosci. 2023 Jan 4:16:1041397. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1041397. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Steffen Bücher¹, Valdis Bernhofs², Andrea Thieme¹, Markus Christiner^{2

3}, Peter Schneider^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Section of Biomagnetism Heidelberg, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
² Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Riga, Latvia.
³ Centre of Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁴ Department of Neuroradiology, Medical School Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aims to explore the extent to which auditory processing is reflected in the prefrontal cortex.

Methods: Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the chronology of primary and secondary auditory responses and associated co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex in a large cohort of 162 participants of various ages. The sample consisted of 38 primary school children, 39 adolescents, 43 younger, and 42 middle-aged adults and was further divided into musically experienced participants and non-musicians by quantifying musical training and aptitude parameters.

Results: We observed that the co-activation in the orbitofrontal cortex [Brodmann-Area 10 (BA10)] strongly depended on musical expertise but not on age. In the musically experienced groups, a systematic coincidence of peak latencies of the primary auditory P1 response and the co-activated response in the orbitofrontal cortex was observed in childhood at the onset of musical education. In marked contrast, in all non-musicians, the orbitofrontal co-activation occurred 25-40 ms later when compared with the P1 response. Musical practice and musical aptitude contributed equally to the observed activation and co-activation patterns in the auditory and orbitofrontal cortex, confirming the reciprocal, interrelated influence of nature, and nurture in the musical brain.

Discussion: Based on the observed ageindependent differences in the chronology and lateralization of neurological responses, we suggest that orbitofrontal functions may contribute to musical learning at an early age.

Keywords: BA10; audiation; auditory cortex; auditory evoked fields; chronology; musical aptitude; orbitofrontal cortex.