{"id":13399,"date":"2025-12-14T20:09:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T20:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/?p=13399"},"modified":"2026-04-13T19:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:33:08","slug":"piccolo-projects-in-picture-part-five-sub-cortical-attention-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/piccolo-projects-in-picture-part-five-sub-cortical-attention-network\/","title":{"rendered":"PICCOLO projects in picture. Part five : sub-cortical attention network"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"13399\" class=\"elementor elementor-13399\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7dbd250 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7dbd250\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-570e17d\" data-id=\"570e17d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-233f7f9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"233f7f9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-14135\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-540x304.jpg 540w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-860x484.jpg 860w, https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_partie5_FR-1-pdf-1170x658.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc3b4b8 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fc3b4b8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We are pleased to present this week the fifth in a series of infographics aimed at sharing the results of our research project on the effects of Instrument Practice or Singing on COgnition, Language and brain Organization: project PICCOLO.<\/strong><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this infographic, we highlight the results of the fifth study from the project. This study, recently published in the prestigious journal <em>Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences<\/em>, an interdisciplinary journal, was conducted by Alexandre Sicard, a PhD student in our laboratory, and Pascale Tremblay. Click <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/frqnt-funded-research-project-on-the-impact-of-musical-activities-on-the-brain\/\">here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to read our blog post presenting the project.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our previous study showed that amateur musicians performed better than non-musicians on specific cognitive tasks, particularly those measuring inhibition and working memory, although these advantages were not global. In the present study, we examined the relationship between brain aging, more specifically the subcortical areas forming the attention network (basal ganglia, thalamus, amygdala, cerebellum) and attentional abilities in adults practicing musical activities or not, focusing on brain plasticity mechanisms. To learn more about brain organization, see our publication on this topic here.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our results show an age-related decline in almost all subcortical structures analyzed. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, musical practice did not reduce this age-related subcortical decline. Only 5 structures out of 40 showed differences between groups: the bilateral ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus, right putamen, right medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, and the left lobule VIIIA of the cerebellum. Despite the absence of major volumetric differences, the relationships between subcortical volume and attentional control differed across groups. In singers, the results are consistent with the ERM (Expansion-Renormalization) model: better performance is associated with smaller volume. In controls, the results are consistent with the brain reserve hypothesis: better performance is associated with larger volume. Finally, in instrumentalists, no clear pattern was found.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plasticity mechanisms appear to be specific to the activity practiced rather than to specific brain regions. This observation is confirmed both at the cortical (previous study) and subcortical levels. Overall, subcortical structures were more strongly associated with inhibition (measured with the CWIT test) than with auditory selective attention (measured via the TAiL test).<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In summary, this study suggests that practicing a cognitive-motor activity (musical or not) leads to circumscribed brain reorganizations rather than global protection against subcortical aging. The differences are found mainly in brain-behavior functional relationships rather than in structural preservation.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/2728.svg\" alt=\"\u2728\" \/> Check out into our visual to discover how practicing musical activities modulates the subcortical attention network! <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4a1.svg\" alt=\"\ud83d\udca1\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f3b6.svg\" alt=\"\ud83c\udfb6\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f469-200d-1f52c.svg\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udd2c\" \/><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can download the infographics as a PDF file by clicking <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PICCOLO_5_ENG.pdf\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about this study, read the scientific article itself <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Sicard_Tremblay_2025.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy reading!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4764149 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4764149\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4c3c711\" data-id=\"4c3c711\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b96397 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3b96397\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Suggested readings :<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/piccolo-project-in-images-part-one-impacts-on-articulation\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">PICCOLO Project in Images. Part One: Impacts on Articulation<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/piccolo-project-in-images-part-one-impacts-on-cognition\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">PICCOLO Project in Images. Part Two: Impacts on Cognition<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/projet-piccolo-en-images-troisieme-partie-impacts-sur-le-reseau-de-lattention\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">PICCOLO Project in Pictures. Part Three: Impacts on the Attention Network<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/piccolo-project-in-pictures-part-four-impacts-on-brain-networks\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">PICCOLO Project in Pictures. Part Four: Impacts on Brain Networks<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><span lang=\"EN-CA\"><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/frqnt-funded-research-project-on-the-impact-of-musical-activities-on-the-brain\/\">Introducing the PICCOLO project<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/new-scientific-article-about-the-impact-of-singing-on-articulation\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">New scientific article about the impact of singing on articulation<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><span lang=\"EN-CA\"><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/scientific-article-on-the-benefits-of-choral-singing\/\">Scientific Article on the Benefits of Choral Singing<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/li><li><div><span lang=\"EN-CA\"><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/pascale-presents-our-work-at-the-neurosciences-and-music-viii-congress-in-helsinki-finland\/\">Pascale presents our work at the \u201cNeurosciences and Music VIII\u201d congress in Helsinki<\/a> <\/span><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/lab-paper-on-aging-and-singing\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">Lab paper on aging and singing!<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri\/\">Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/le-cerveau-une-foret-de-neurones\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">A forest of neurons<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/new-scientific-article-on-verbal-fluency-in-healthy-aging\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">New Scientific Article on Verbal Fluency in Healthy Aging<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/inducing-plasticity\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">Inducing plasticity<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><div><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/la-pratique-musicale-peut-elle-ameliorer-lecoute-de-conversations-dans-le-bruit\/\"><span lang=\"EN-CA\">Can musical practice improve listening to conversations in noise?<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/comment-fonctionne-le-cerveau-humain\/\">How does the human brain work?<\/a>\u00a0<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/la-matiere-grise-et-blanche-2\/\">Gray and white matter<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/the-anatomy-of-the-human-brain\/\">The anatomy of the human brain\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/les-fonctions-cognitives\/\">Cognitive functions<\/a>\u00a0<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/chocolat-et-fonctions-cognitives\/\">Chocolate and cognitive functions\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/aging-and-brain-volume\/\">Aging and brain volume<\/a>\u00a0<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/le-cerveau-de-maxime\/\">Maxime\u2019s brain<\/a>\u00a0<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/participation-in-the-annual-meeting-of-the-organization-for-human-brain-mapping-ohbm\/\">Participation in the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/alexandres-study-presented-at-the-scientific-day-of-the-quebec-bio-imaging-network-qbin\/\">Alexandre&#8217;s study presented at the Scientific Day of the Quebec Bio-Imaging Network (QBIN)\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover how the subcortical attention system is modulated by musical activity practice through this infographic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[309,310,713,397,712,345,535,518,710,711],"ppma_author":[395,54],"class_list":["post-13399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-projets-de-recherche","tag-aging","tag-attention-2","tag-basal-ganglia","tag-brain-en","tag-cerebellum","tag-mri","tag-music","tag-plasticity","tag-subcortical","tag-thalamus"],"authors":[{"term_id":395,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"alexandre-sicard","display_name":"Alexandre Sicard","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""},{"term_id":54,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"admin-pascale","display_name":"Pascale Tremblay","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ea9e5826afc1fd507cc7b89eaca37953ea310ad30088c3920137ab8e86846244?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Tremblay","first_name":"Pascale","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13399"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14142,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13399\/revisions\/14142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13399"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/speechneurolab.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=13399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}