The importance of the fibre tracts connecting the planum temporale in absolute pitch possessors Abstract   In the present study we investigated 90 musicians of both sexes who possess different degrees of absolute pitch (AP) using diffusion tensor imaging in association with a correlational approach and evaluated whether there are differences in perisylvian connections depending on the proficiency level of AP. We expected higher fractional anisotropy with increasing AP ability in the white matter underlying perisylvian brain areas. Results revealed a significant positive correlation between the proficiency level of AP and fractional anisotropy values in the leftsided white matter underlying the planum temporale. We interpret this result as an indicator of auditory processing differences between musicians possessing different degrees of AP, reflecting early auditory encoding and categorization processes. The present study provides further evidence for the substantial importance of the leftsided planum temporale for the ability of AP.

Convergent creative thinking performance is associated with white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study Abstract   In laboratory settings, creativity is measured using tasks of divergent as well as convergent thinking. It has been suggested that brain connectivity is important for creativity. In the present study, we investigated the associations of convergent thinking performance of compound Remote Associates Test (CRAT) with fractional anisotropy (FA) in diffusion tensor imaging and regional white matter (WM) volume (rWMV) in voxelbased morphometry in a large sample of healthy young adults (360 males and 280 females; mean age: 20.9 years, SDxe2x80xafxe2x80xaf1.6). We showed that CRAT performance was positively correlated with WM pathway property (i.e., FA) in the left frontooccipital fasciculus and the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, which play important roles in processing of language and concept. Further, CRAT performance was negatively correlated with rWMV in the widespread frontal temporal subcortical and cerebellar WM areas, suggesting the unique association of convergent thinking with WM connectivity.