BBC News - Inside the brain of a beatboxer

fuckyeahneuroscience:

Brain scans of a professional beatboxer, who performs by imitating electronic instruments vocally, suggest the skill is an expert behaviour.

Scientists compared the brain activity of UK champion, Reeps One, with that of a novice, while they both beatboxed.

Reeps One mostly used two brain areas, including the cerebellum - responsible for learning complicated movements.

The novice used many more brain areas, suggesting a need to plan each sound and a lack of automatic processing.

Dr McGettigan says: “At the very early stages of this study we have some indication that here we have an expert.

“We have someone who has learned a motor skill, who has practised it for every day, over many years. We can see this reflected in the very clean focal activation of the primary motor cortex and cerebellum.

“What we have at the moment is a demonstration that being an expert doesn’t mean you activate more of your brain. The phrase ‘less is more’ is sort of appropriate here.”