Investigating The Neural Mechanisms of Skill Acquisition Induced Plasticity Using Multimodal MRI
Project description
Musical training is a well-established model for studying neuroplasticity which integrates motor, auditory and spatial cognitive domains. In this study we aim to examine the neural mechanisms underlying these changes using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Previous research has demonstrated both structural and functional modifications in motor and auditory-related brain regions following musical training. Still, the nature of interactions between these changes and their relationship to individual differences in performance remain unclear. Here, by assessing musical training-related changes across timescales and MRI modalities we wish to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the learning process. Our muti-modal approach will not only reveal alterations in brain activity, connectivity, and microstructure following learning, but also observe the relations between them and possible co-modifications, which are so far rarely studied. A multivariate approach to neuroplasticity will allow to examine whether functional and structural alterations reflect a single biological phenomenon or rather originate from distinct neural substrates, and whether changes in different modalities share temporal (e.g., phases of learning) or spatial (e.g., brain areas) properties, offering novel insights into the learning process. Finally, we will employ the complex relations between multiple brain-derived measures to predict individual potential of successful learning.
About me
Tamar completed her BSc in Psychology and Biology with an emphasis on neuroscience from the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University in 2022. After one year of M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Sagol School of Neuroscience, she proceeded to a direct PhD in neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Ido Tavor. Her research focuses on investigating the neural changes following musical skill acquisition using MRI.
In her PhD, Tamar is exploring co-modifications within the brain following short-term piano training in musically naïve participants. She aims to identify a pattern of multimodal changes which can reflect a biological mechanism and try to explain individual differences in musical performance and predict the potential for successful learning.