MUSIC AND THE BRAIN

Music as Medicine ~ Nothing provides a better all-brain workout

Introduction

It is an exciting time for the science of neurology and brain study. I read recently that we have learned more about the brain in the last five years than in the five thousand years previous. Recent advances in brain-imaging technology have given us some incredible tools for studying this most complex structure in the known universe: tools like the fMRI, the EEG, SPECT scan, and CT scan and the PET scan. These special tools allow us to watch electrical activity and blood flow in the brain as it responds to different stimuli and situations. We are learning so much about music and the brain, how music affects mood, memory and cognition.

One thing we are learning is there is a special connection between music and the brain. The Music Therapy Association has a lot to say about that.

But it is not just music. All sensory stimulation has an effect on the brain. This fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan from the brain on Brainpaths (Fig. 1) is a good example of how this new technology can help us study the brain. Scans like these were first seen in 1991. In this picture we see how a simple somatic input affects the corresponding part of the somatosensory cortex. Red and yellow colors indicate brain activity.

Brain Stimulation is Rarely Simple or One-Dimensional

Sensory input, however, is rarely as simple as the above example would suggest.  Looking at a painting, especially a well done piece, will stimulate more than just the part of the brain that process visual information. Art can trigger responses in creative centers, emotional centers, the prefrontal cortex, and more. Art can also evoke memories and reminiscences.

Reading vs. Surfing

Fig. 2 contains two images of the brain of an experienced computer user. The front of the brain is to the right in these images. Red color in the scans indicates brain activity. The image of the brain to the left was made while the subject was reading a book. Reading stimulates more than just language and visual centers. Reading about running, even if a fictional character is running, can stimulate motor areas in the brain.  If the protagonist in your book is cooking and describing the odors in the kitchen, the olfactory centers of your brain may be activated.

In this image of the reading brain we recognize activity in the frontal lobes. The front part of the brain is responsible for much of our executive functioning and thought processes; judgement, choice, prediction, etc. To the left of center in the image we see more red. This is the area of the temporal lobes, responsible for language processing. Visual centers are in the visual cortex at the back of the brain, and there, too, we see signs of activity.

The brain pictured on the right in Fig. 2 is a scan showing the brain of this individual while surfing the internet. A comparison of the scans indicates considerably more activity while surfing than when reading. If brain stimulation is rewarding on a biological and neurological level, as I suspect it is, it is little wonder we waste so much time online.

This is, again, the scan of an experienced computer user. Non-experienced users show considerably less activity. Furthermore, it may be too early to know for sure what are the actual benefits of this recorded brain activity. On the other hand, the image is measuring blood flow and oxygenation in the brain; red in the image indicates blood and oxygen. And we know that oxygenation is good for brain cells; in fact oxygenation is required for normal brain functioning.

Read more in The Alzheimer’s Brain

In case you had any doubt about the effects of music and the brain, this amazing animation shows how the cortex is activated during listening to a piece of Argentinian tango. It is based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, computational musical feature extraction and statistical modeling. The data are from the study published in 2012 by Alluri V, Toiviainen P, Jääskeläinen IP, Glerean E, Sams M & Brattico E, Large-scale brain networks emerge from dynamic processing of musical timbre, key and rhythm, NeuroImage (2012), doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.019 (sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811911013000).

The study was conducted at the the University of Jyväskylä, University of Helsinki, and Aalto University. The data and model are the same as in the video The Tango Brain 2 (vimeo.com/peto/tangobrain2). The animation was created with Matlab.

Music and the Brain – The Power of Music in our Lives

I keep coming back to music. Music just might provide the ultimate sensory experience. Furthermore, it may be one of our best tools as care providers. Music therapy can ease physical pain and calm anxiety, and much, much more. Play the video above. It provides an even more dynamic illustration of the power that this new technology means to brain studies. Moreover, it provides a powerful example of the effect music has on the brain.

The above video is based on functional MRI and computer modeling. It shows a person’s brain reacting to the tango music you are hearing while viewing it. You can watch different areas light up with electrical activity as the music changes. The red end of the spectrum denotes activity, the blue end inactivity.

It would be interesting to compare animated brain scans, like the one above, of a dancer and a musician listening to the same music. Perhaps different parts of the brain would be activated because of the different training, and the different relationship the two have to music. Or how might the scans of a professional chef and a food critic differ while both ate the same meal? And I would like to see comparative scans of a painter and an art collector responding to a painting or sculpture.

But I don’t have a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine…