CHANGES IN ANTERIOR CORPUS CALLOSUM INTEGRITY DUE TO LONGITUDINAL MUSICAL TRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS: A DTI MRI STUDY

Six months of intensive musical training may induce structural changes in white matter tracts that are particularly vulnerable to age-related decline. In this controlled longitudinal study, we examined whether initiating musical training in older adults leads to microstructural modifications in the anterior corpus callosum (CC). Adults aged 45–65 years participated voluntarily in one of three groups: musical training (guitar lessons, N=9), visual arts training (painting lessons, N=7), or an inactive control group (N=9). Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was acquired before and after 6 months of intervention, and diffusion-derived metrics—fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD)—were used to assess anterior CC integrity. Preliminary analyses revealed significant increases in FA and reductions in RD in the anterior CC of the musical training group, consistent with enhanced microstructural organization. These changes were not observed in the inactive control group or in the active painting group. Axial diffusivity exhibited a non-significant decreasing trend in the musical training group. Together, these findings indicate selective white matter modifications associated with musical training and support the idea that beginning musical practice in later adulthood may promote white matter plasticity. Musical training may therefore represent a promising non-pharmacological strategy to support healthy brain aging and preserve interhemispheric communication.