TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased volume and function of right auditory cortex as a marker for absolute pitch
AU - Wengenroth, Martina
AU - Blatow, Maria
AU - Heinecke, Armin
AU - Reinhardt, Julia
AU - Stippich, Christoph
AU - Hofmann, Elke
AU - Schneider, Peter
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Doris Geller (Mannheim University of Music, Germany) for her contributions to the development of the AP test and Thomas T. G. Hahn (Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany) for critically reading the manuscript. M.B. was supported by the Olympia-Morata Program of the Heidelberg Medical Faculty. Conflict of Interest: None declared.
PY - 2014/5
Y1 - 2014/5
N2 - Absolute pitch (AP) perception is the auditory ability to effortlessly recognize the pitch of any given tone without external reference. To study the neural substrates of this rare phenomenon, we developed a novel behavioral test, which excludes memory-based interval recognition and permits quantification of AP proficiency independently of relative pitch cues. AP-and non-AP-possessing musicians were studied with morphological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography. Gray matter volume of the right Heschl's gyrus (HG) was highly correlated with AP proficiency. Right-hemispheric auditory evoked fields were increased in the AP group. fMRI revealed an AP-dependent network of right planum temporale, secondary somatosensory, and premotor cortices, as well as left-hemispheric "Broca's" area. We propose the right HG as an anatomical marker of AP and suggest that a right-hemispheric network mediates AP "perception," whereas pitch "labeling" takes place in the left hemisphere.
AB - Absolute pitch (AP) perception is the auditory ability to effortlessly recognize the pitch of any given tone without external reference. To study the neural substrates of this rare phenomenon, we developed a novel behavioral test, which excludes memory-based interval recognition and permits quantification of AP proficiency independently of relative pitch cues. AP-and non-AP-possessing musicians were studied with morphological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography. Gray matter volume of the right Heschl's gyrus (HG) was highly correlated with AP proficiency. Right-hemispheric auditory evoked fields were increased in the AP group. fMRI revealed an AP-dependent network of right planum temporale, secondary somatosensory, and premotor cortices, as well as left-hemispheric "Broca's" area. We propose the right HG as an anatomical marker of AP and suggest that a right-hemispheric network mediates AP "perception," whereas pitch "labeling" takes place in the left hemisphere.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84898924217&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/cercor/bhs391
DO - 10.1093/cercor/bhs391
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 23302811
AN - SCOPUS:84898924217
SN - 1047-3211
VL - 24
SP - 1127
EP - 1137
JO - Cerebral Cortex
JF - Cerebral Cortex
IS - 5
ER -
