Neural control of playing a reversed piano: empirical evidence for an unusual cortical organization of musical functions

Neuroreport. 2006 Mar 20;17(4):447-51. doi: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000204978.91253.33.

Abstract

Using functional magnetic imaging techniques and neuropsychological tests, we studied a young male musician (C.S.) who performs at a professional level both on a regular piano keyboard and on a reverse keyboard (reversed right to left). The participant was left-handed, had left dominance for language but, remarkably, right dominance for the control of piano playing on both keyboards. With respect to music perception, C.S. showed left-sided activation dominance within the left superior temporal sulcus, which is normally associated with higher order auditory processing and right-sided activations in the secondary sensory cortex extending into the supramarginal gyrus. We suggest that C.S.'s pattern of functional asymmetry, characterized by audio-motor control using a right-sided network, could be a factor in his exceptional piano-playing ability on both the standard and reversed keyboard.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Auditory Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Auditory Cortex / physiology*
  • Auditory Perception / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Functional Laterality / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Motor Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Motor Cortex / physiology
  • Motor Skills / physiology*
  • Music / psychology*
  • Nerve Net / anatomy & histology
  • Nerve Net / physiology*
  • Parietal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology