music and the mind
Music on the Mind
by Nancy K. Dess
New research finds melody ingrained in the brain
Musicand science may seem to inhabit different universes--one of beauty andemotion, the other of logic and reason. But now, neuroscientists areplacing them in the same solar system. Norman M. Weinberger, Ph.D.,professor of neurobiology and behavior at the University of Californiaat Irvine, explains how new research is beginning to reveal the role ofmusic in brain function--and our lives.
Nancy K. Dess: Is music in our genes?
Norman M. Weinberger: Musicexists in every culture, and infants have excellent musical abilitiesthat cannot be explained by learning. Mothers everywhere sing to theirinfants because babies understand it. Music seems to be part of our biological heritage.
NKD: So our brains evolved to process it?
NMW: Not in the sense that a particular chunk of brain is musical. It's complex, because musichas many elements--rhythm, melody and so on. For example, certain cellsin the right hemisphere respond more to melody than to language.
NKD: Music's complex representation in the brain must make it hard to study.
NMW: It does. One tack is to start with basics. For example, a fundamental aspect of musicperception is recognition of a melody in different keys; each note'smeaning depends heavily on its context. In one study, we exposedanimals to three simple melodies with the same middle tone. Almostevery neuron responded differently to that middle tone in the differentcontexts. This type of research helps us find out how musical processeswith deep evolutionary roots differ from those appearing later inlife--culture-specific preferences, for instance.
NKD: Are sound patterns recognized innately, or are they learned?
NMW: Neurons learn to prioritize some sounds. When a tone becomesimportant--because it signals food, for instance--the cells' responseto that tone increases. This finding revolutionized thinking aboutbrain organization by showing that learning is not a "higher" brainfunction but rather one that occurs in the sensory systems themselves.
NKD: Does musical experience shape the human brain?
NMW: It seems to. For example, the cortical representation of digits 2to 5 on the left hand of string players is greater than for the right,suggesting that musical experience does influence the brain.
NKD: Does listening to music similarly shape the brain?
NMW: A few years ago, Shaw and colleagues reported on the "MozartEffect"-- the finding that college students who listen to Mozart for 10minutes perform better on spatial-temporal tests, like patternmatching. Regrettably, this finding sprouted wings, such as the beliefthat kids get smarter after 10 minutes of Mozart. Intriguing as thefinding is, it seems to have no practical implications because theeffect lasts only a few minutes.
NKD: So, does listening to music have any long-term effect on the brain?
NMW: Yes, but only with time and practice. Evidence suggests thatlong-term musical involvement reaps cognitive rewards--in languageskills, reasoning and creativity--and boosts social adjustment. Musicexercises the brain. Playing an instrument, for instance, involvesvision, hearing, touch, motor planning, emotion, symbolinterpretation--all of which activate different brain systems. This maybe why some Alzheimer's patients can perform music long after they have forgotten other things.
NKD: It seems a shame that music instruction has disappeared from many schools.
NMW: It's a disgrace. Some people claim that music programs are too expensive, but killing musicprograms deprives children of intellectual, personal and socialbenefits. I know it sounds corny, but by failing to foster musicality,our society is wasting its potential. Perhaps if more people knew music's true benefits, it would be restored to more schools.
Nancy K. Dess, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Occidental College and senior scientist at the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C.