Increased Cortical Representation of the Fingers of the Left Hand in String Players

By Thomas Elbert, C. Pantev, C. Wienbruch, B. Rockstroh, Edward Taub. 1995

Magnetic source imaging revealed that the cortical representation of the digits of the left hand of string players was larger than that in controls. The effect was smallest for the left thumb, and no such differences were observed for the representations of the right hand digits. The amount of cortical reorganization in the representation of the fingering digits was correlated with the age at which the person had begun to play. These results suggest that the representation of different parts of the body in the primary somatosensory cortex of humans depends on use and changes to conform to the current needs and experiences of the individual.

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Citations in the corpus

Neural plasticity across the lifespan (2016, positive): “In humans, a similar experiment was performed using neuroimaging, with similar results: in musicians that play stringed instruments, sensory representations of the left digits (which finger the strings) are larger than the representations found in typical people.(7) Interestingly, the enlargement wa”
Expertise and expert performance in sport (2008, background): “For example, early and extended practice has been shown to change cortical mapping in musicians (Elbert et al., 1995), and the development of white matter within regionally specific areas of the brain in piano players (Bengtsson et al.”
Music, biological evolution, and the brain (2010, background): “There has been a good deal of research on structural brain differences between professional musicians and non-musicians (e.g., Elbert et al., 1995; Schneider et al., 2002; Bengtsson et al., 2005; Stewart, 2008), with recent research supporting the idea that many such differences can be explained by…”
Preperformance state, routines and automaticity: What does it take to realize expertise in self-paced events? (2001, background): “Elbert et al. considered the possibility of a genetic advantage, that a predetermined large cortical representation of finger digits contributes to making superior string players who will probably continue with their musical training because they are more likely to realize success. However, on the b”
Image schemata in the brain (2005, background): “In another study, the somatosensory areas for the digits of the left hand of stringed-instrument players were larger than for their right hand or than for the left hand of control subjects who did not play a stringed instrument (Elbert et al. 1995).”
Cortical plasticity: from synapses to maps. (1998, background): “…MBL December 21, 1997 13:17 Annual Reviews AR050-07 CORTICAL PLASTICITY 169 that the somatosensory representation of the digits of the left hand of string players is larger in comparison with fingers of their right hands or with the fingers of the left hands of control subjects (Elbert et al 1995).”
The influence of Organized Violence and Terror on Brain and Mind : a Co-Constructive Perspective (2006, background): “…skilled string instrument players – a category for which both cultural and psychological preconditions are necessary – have larger representational zones of their left hand in their cerebral cortex compared to the brains of people who do not engage in such extensive practice (Elbert et al., 1995).”