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Brain structural morphometry in non-musicians with superior pitch identification ability
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  • Published: 03 April 2026

Brain structural morphometry in non-musicians with superior pitch identification ability

  • Jiancheng Hou1,2,
  • Thomas Hosseini2 &
  • Michael W. O’Boyle3 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology

Abstract

Absolute pitch (AP) has long served as a model for studying the neural correlates of pitch perception. Previous studies have examined brain function and structural morphometry in musicians with AP. However, pitch identification (PI) ability also exists in non-musicians, with some demonstrating superior PI ability. Despite this, little is known about their brain morphometry. The current study investigated structural differences between non-musicians with superior and average PI abilities by measuring gray matter volume and cortical thickness. Results revealed that, compared to non-musicians with average PI ability, non-musicians with superior PI ability had larger gray matter volumes–except in three regions where volumes were smaller–and smaller cortical thickness. These findings differ from prior studies of AP musicians, in which structural findings have varied that some reported smaller gray matter volumes and thinner cortex, while others report greater cortical thickness relative to non-AP musicians. The novel findings of the current study broaden our understanding of neuroanatomical correlates of PI ability, extending beyond AP musicians to include non-musicians with superior pitch identification skills.

Data availability

The data that support this study are available from the corresponding author, Jiancheng Hou, upon reasonable request. Contact email: bonjovi_hou@163.com.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all graduate research assistants who helped us with data collection.

Funding

This study was supported by the Fujian Normal University Research Start-Up Funding (Y0720304K05), and the 111 Project from the Ministry of Education of China (B07008).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Cross-Straits Cultural Development, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, Fujian, China

    Jiancheng Hou

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53796, USA

    Jiancheng Hou & Thomas Hosseini

  3. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA

    Michael W. O’Boyle

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Contributions

J.H. designed and performed the experiment, analyzed the data, wrote and revised the main manuscript. J.H. and T.H. wrote the revised the manuscript. M. O. supervised and revised the mansucript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jiancheng Hou.

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Cite this article

Hou, J., Hosseini, T. & O’Boyle, M.W. Brain structural morphometry in non-musicians with superior pitch identification ability. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45391-7

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  • Received: 31 May 2025

  • Accepted: 18 March 2026

  • Published: 03 April 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45391-7

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Keywords

  • Pitch identification
  • Superior pitch identification ability
  • Gray matter volume
  • Cortical thickness
  • Non-musicians
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