Music perception is well preserved in human evolution but the specific biological determinants of music practice are largely unknown.

A study of professional musicians found enhanced activity of genes involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission, motor behavior, learning and memory when they practiced.  Several of those up-regulated genes are also known to be responsible for song production in songbirds and that suggests a potential evolutionary conservation in sound perception and production across species, according to the authors.

It is well known that music performance induces structural and functional changes to the human brain and enhance cognition but the molecular mechanisms underlying music performance are speculation. A Finnish research group has now investigated the effect of music performance (in a 2 hour concert) on the gene expression profiles of professional musicians from Tapiola Sinfonietta (a professional orchestra) and Sibelius-Academy (a music university).  

Playing music enhanced the activity of genes involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission, motor function, learning and memory. Some of the up-regulated genes like SNCA, FOS and DUSP1 are known to contribute to song perception and production in songbirds suggesting a potential evolutionary conservation in molecular mechanisms related to sound production across species.

In addition, several of the up-regulated genes are known to be involved in biological pathways like calcium ion homeostasis and iron ion homeostasis that are essential for neuronal function, survival and neuroprotection.

"The findings provide a valuable background for molecular studies of music perception and evolution, and music therapy," notes Dr. Irma Järvelä, the leader of the study.

Citation: Chakravarthi Kanduri, Tuire Kuusi, Minna Ahvenainen1, Anju K. Philips, Harri Lähdesmäki,&Irma Järvelä. The effect of music performance on the transcriptome of professional musicians. Scientific reports, Vol 5, pages 9506, 2015. Top image: Shutterstock