How music affects the brain
By William Huang
Many of us have played an instrument before. We were all motivated by different reasons. A curiosity to pursue a new passion. A task forced upon us by our parents. A love of music that began with elementary school programs. But what if I told you that music could have benefits beyond the beautiful sounds emitted by our instruments and the satisfaction of producing these sounds. Would this motivate you to start a journey in music?
Humans may be innately, cognitively musical as we are naturally linguistic. Any person from a child (without a musical condition) can perceive melodies, pitch, differentiate tones, tap out rhythms, and recall and construct music in our minds. These “natural,” almost subconscious abilities to grasp these basic components of music are seemingly embedded into human nature. However, breakthroughs in brain imaging technology like fMRIs and PET scans in recent decades may provide more insight in the effect of music on the brain.
Even passive listening– processing sounds, isolating individual components like melodies and rhythms, and reintegrating them into a unified musical experience - activates multiple regions of the brain on both hemispheres at the same time. Playing music engages practically every region of the brain simultaneously, especially in the auditory cortex, visual cortex in reading music, and motor cortex to coordinate fine bodily responses. Musicians also have measured higher grey matter volume in those regions of the brain, as well as in the cerebellum and hippocampus. Extended music exposure additionally increases the volume and activity of the corpus callosum, and the connective bridge between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This allows for more efficient and diverse connections between the more artistic sectors of the brain. Musicians also demonstrate higher executive function, a category of mental organization at the intersection of emotional awareness and cognitive analysis to perform planning, problem solving, and attention to detail, as well as a great memory.
Although the biological link between music and language is difficult to prove, exploring the intersection between music and language can help us comprehend the concepts and better understand the brain. Perhaps we can finally prove that Baby Einstein’s music is good for kids.
Citations:
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2014/12/how-music-class-can-spark-brain-development/
Image Credit:
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/music-and-brain/
