Cortical excitability changes associated with musical tasks: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study in humans.

Neuroimaging studies have suggested differences in cortical activation in human vocalization and musical tasks. However, functional neurophysiological evidence on cortical excitability changes is lacking. We utilized transcranial magnetic stimulation to demonstrate changes in cortical excitability during overt humming and singing tasks. The findings complement those from neuroimaging and support the existence of separate bilateral deep-seated neural networks, as distinct from those for vocalization.