RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Structural Neuroplasticity Effects of Singing in Chronic Aphasia JF eneuro JO eNeuro FD Society for Neuroscience SP ENEURO.0408-23.2024 DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0408-23.2024 VO 11 IS 5 A1 Sihvonen, Aleksi J. A1 Pitkäniemi, Anni A1 Siponkoski, Sini-Tuuli A1 Kuusela, Linda A1 Martínez-Molina, Noelia A1 Laitinen, Sari A1 Särkämö, Essi-Reetta A1 Pekkola, Johanna A1 Melkas, Susanna A1 Schlaug, Gottfried A1 Sairanen, Viljami A1 Särkämö, Teppo YR 2024 UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/11/5/ENEURO.0408-23.2024.abstract AB Singing-based treatments of aphasia can improve language outcomes, but the neural benefits of group-based singing in aphasia are unknown. Here, we set out to determine the structural neuroplasticity changes underpinning group-based singing-induced treatment effects in chronic aphasia. Twenty-eight patients with at least mild nonfluent poststroke aphasia were randomized into two groups that received a 4-month multicomponent singing intervention (singing group) or standard care (control group). High-resolution T1 images and multishell diffusion-weighted MRI data were collected in two time points (baseline/5 months). Structural gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) neuroplasticity changes were assessed using language network region of interest-based voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and quantitative anisotropy-based connectometry, and their associations to improved language outcomes (Western Aphasia Battery Naming and Repetition) were evaluated. Connectometry analyses showed that the singing group enhanced structural WM connectivity in the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and corpus callosum as well as in the frontal aslant tract (FAT), superior longitudinal fasciculus, and corticostriatal tract bilaterally compared with the control group. Moreover, in VBM, the singing group showed GM volume increase in the left inferior frontal cortex (Brodmann area 44) compared with the control group. The neuroplasticity effects in the left BA44, AF, and FAT correlated with improved naming abilities after the intervention. These findings suggest that in the poststroke aphasia group, singing can bring about structural neuroplasticity changes in left frontal language areas and in bilateral language pathways, which underpin treatment-induced improvement in speech production.