INCREASED CORPUS-CALLOSUM SIZE IN MUSICIANS

Using in-vivo magnetic resonance morphometry it was investigated wheth er the midsagittal area of the corpus callosum (CC) would differ betwe en 30 professional musicians and 30 age-, sex- and handedness-matched controls. Our analyses revealed that the anterior half of the CC was s ignificantly larger in musicians. This difference was due to the large r anterior CC in the subgroup of musicians who had begun musical train ing before the age of 7. Since anatomic studies have provided evidence for a positive correlation between midsagittal callosal size and the number of fibers crossing through the CC, these data indicate a differ ence in interhemispheric communication and possibly in hemispheric (a) symmetry of sensorimotor areas. Our results are also compatible with p lastic changes of components of the CC during a maturation period with in the first decade of human life, similar to those observed in animal studies.