Functional Brain Connectivity and Musical Training: Insights from EEG Phase Synchronization During Music Perception

Abstract

Musical training profoundly impacts brain organization, fostering functional and structural adaptations that enhance auditory, motor, and cognitive processes. This study investigates functional connectivity differences between professional musicians and non-musicians during tasks involving music perception and different graphic notations. Using EEG phase-locking value (PLV) analysis, we examined synchronization across alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands. Results revealed that musicians exhibited enhanced functional connectivity between brain regions, reflecting their ability to integrate auditory, visual, and cognitive information efficiently. In the alpha band, strong connectivity between the occipital and temporal regions was observed during all tasks, with additional synchronization between the parietal and temporal regions in tasks lacking pitch information. In the beta band, significant frontal-temporal connectivity was detected, indicating cognitive processing, while temporal-occipital synchronization emerged in specific tasks. In the gamma band, musicians demonstrated robust frontal-temporal and frontal-frontal synchronization, reflecting emotional and structural processing of music. Non-musicians showed reduced task-specific connectivity, relying on generalized strategies. These findings underscore the role of musical training in enhancing multimodal brain integration and cognitive flexibility, contributing to advanced music perception and processing.