Recovery from Receptive Amusia Suggests Functional Reorganization of Music- Processing Networks

Abstract

A follow-up study was performed in patients suffering from receptive amusia due to unilateral cerebrovascular cortical lesions. Perceptual musical functions had initially been assessed within the 5th and 10th day post-lesion and were re-evaluated 6-12 months after brain-damage. The standardized test battery covered local and global strategies of music perception in discrimination tasks. Retest sessions showed an overall improvement of music perception, reaching a significant group effect over all tasks. Marked improvement up to normal range was seen in four patients. These findings demonstrate the possibility of recovery from receptive amusia that can be assumed to be based on cerebral plasticity changes. Extremely mixed patterns of recovery support the hypothesis of a highly individual formation of music processing networks.

Language and music side by side: post‐stroke aprosodia and amusia are subserved by the same brain networks

“…For amusia, this has been demonstrated in a study by the same group [4]. Similarly, in an earlier behavioural study no more auditory deficit was found after 1 year in two out of eight patients suffering from severe amusia, demonstrating compensating functional neuroplasticity [5].…”

Clinical investigations of receptive and expressive musical functions after stroke

“…Later, brain reorganization and neuroplastic effects obscure the primary deficits. This is one of the reasons why, in a related study, recovery from amusia was a common finding ( Schuppert et al, 2003 ). To investigate the dependence of musical perception and expression on the temporal auditory areas, we decided to include only lesions with a focused area in the temporal lobe in one hemisphere.…”

“…The evaluation of musical functions is mainly suited to patients with a small lesion, who are less widely affected than those with other stroke-associated deficits of the motor and speech system. Given the near complete recovery of receptive musical deficits ( Schuppert et al, 2003 ), the use of a standardized diagnostic tool during the routine on a stroke unit is questionable. But for a more limited use with those patients complaining about a receptive or expressive musical deficit and especially for professional musicians such a battery could be meaningful.…”