Author:

Abstract:

Young (20-35 yrs) and older (54-67 yrs) professional musicians and age-matched novices (20 in each group) performed unimanual rhythm tasks in a 3T fMRI scanner. Rhythm tasks differed in complexity requiring low level timing (isochronous sequences), sequencing (single rhythms), or task set control (switching between different rhythms). Data was collected during two fMRI scan sessions with (for novices) six laboratory-training sessions in between. Behavioral data analysis revealed the expected expertise advantages, age effects in novices but maintenance of high-level performance in older experts. At the same time, measures of domain-general functions (working memory, perceptual-motor speed, cognitive control) showed normal age-effects, but no differences between musicians and controls. Besides well documented motor networks active in all groups, we found that novices heavily relied on parieto-prefrontal networks for sequencing and even more so for switching tasks. In contrast, expert musicians showed pronounced activation in the primary sensorimotor cortex and premotor cortex and much lower activation in parieto-prefrontal regions. We conclude that acquisition and maintenance of high-level motor control amounts to a gradual release from domain general cognitive control through optimizing task specific functions.