Danielle began taking violin lessons when she was only four years old, and she spends many hours practicing each week. When she volunteered to participate in an imaging study at her university, the researchers noticed that
A) Danielle had a smaller area of her somatosensory cortex devoted to her fingers compared to other participants.
B) Danielle had a larger area of her somatosensory cortex devoted to her fingers compared to other participants.
C) Danielle's frontal lobes were more active than other participants when music was played during the experiment.
D) Danielle appeared to experience phantom pain when she was asked to imagine having lost her fingers in an accident.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that Danielle began taking violin lessons at a young age and spends many hours practicing each week suggests that she is likely to have a larger area of her somatosensory cortex devoted to her fingers. This is because the somatosensory cortex is responsible for processing information about touch and sensation in different parts of the body, and extensive use of the fingers would cause the corresponding area of the somatosensory cortex to become larger.

Danielle Began Taking Violin Lessons When She Was Only Four