Music Changes the Brain
When people think of music, they usually think of it as a powerful experience that is unique to them, and more of an art than a science. Many people are unaware that it has the ability to change the development of the brain in young children, involve almost every part of the brain, and even release hormones in the brain related to immense pleasure. In past years, scientists have posed these questions, but lacking the knowledge and equipment were unable to test this. Within the last year, a number of tests were conducted at various locations around the world, discovering more and more about this unique experience that has had humans obsessed and intrigued. Music is a very enthralling and complex occurrence that has been proven to engage most of the brain, connects emotionally with people, and changes lives through improving memory, speech, and other use-dependant structural changes in the brain.
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On the contrary, it makes music a much more difficult thing to master. Even after grasping the basic of a piece, such as notes, timing issues, and coordination with other musicians, they then have to be conscious of tone, volume, and emotional effects such as change in tempo and timbre. These different aspects of music are handled by different regions, using functional segregation in order to play or even listen to music. Listening to music starts with the subcortical structures, the brain stem, and the cerebellum. It then moves to the auditory cortices on both sides of the brain. Remarkably when a person is listening to music they are familiar with, additional regions are involved including the hippocampus which relates to memory and subsections of the frontal lobe. Tapping along with music, or even just thinking about the beat, involves the cerebellum’s timing circuits. Performing music, regardless of what instrument played, involves the frontal lobe for planning movements as well as motor cortex and the sensory cortex which provide feedback that the correct note was made. Recalling lyrics occupies language centers. Furthermore the brain is engaged in the emotional aspects of music and lyrics, involving additional regions.
Although there is a whole industry in music which is based merely on finding which tempos, tones, and drum beats induce pleasure, the majority of the listeners are unaware of this. Science has proven that the more musically involved a person is, the stronger that region of their brain is. Therefore, they are more likely to pick up on it when listening to a piece of music. On the contrary, when a non-musician listens to a piece of music, they are unable to pick up on these aspects because of a weakness in that region of the brain.
However, the ability to distinguish one instrument from another remains in most people. The sound from an instrument is actually a series of overtones played simultaneously to create a single note. The difference in frequencies of these overtones is what illustrates the difference between a trumpet and a guitar. Therefore, subconsciously, the brain is calculating the frequencies each individual overtone to determine what instrument is being played [Levitin].
Furthermore, when a single instrument is being performed and an error is made, it is immediately brought to the listeners’ attention and taken note of. Although they might not be conscious of it, the listeners’ brain has already determined the key in which the song is being played, as well as possible chord progressions, and when a note does not fit into a chord, it is noticeable. Depending on the musical training of the person listening, sometimes they can even identify an incorrect note within a concert band or orchestra.
Incidentally, while listening to enjoyable music, the human body reveals all the symptoms of emotional arousal. For example, the pupils in the eyes dilate, blood pressure rises, and even the electrical conductance of the skin is lowered. The speed of a composition, measured in beats per minute, coincidentally is generally about the same range as a human heart beat. Consequently, a faster song has been proven to increase pulse, and likewise a slower song relaxes the human bodies pulse. In addition, the cerebellum, the part of the brain associated with body movements becomes active, even when simply listening to music. When people listen to a melody with a strong beat, their entire spinal cord reacts to the rhythm, showing the beat patterns on the computer screens of testing machines.
Studies have shown that while listening to music, not only is most of the brain in use, it also increases blood oxygenation levels (BOLD) in the brain. After examining recent positron emission tomography (PET) scan studies, it has been concluded that this is related to a release of dopamine in certain regions of the brain. Dopamine is the “pleasure” hormone of the brain, released when eating chocolate, having sex, snorting cocaine, or other similar activities. In other words, music can be viewed as an addiction, that is only subdued when playing or listening to music. Various people have commented on this theory, saying that they have indeed felt that they could not live without music.
In order to make the top ten greatest hits list, a song must be appealing to listen to. Although this seems like a simple concept, it involves provoking anticipation, surpassing expectation as well as prediction, and resolving a melodic pattern all in one song. Anticipation in music is similar to the rising action in a short story. As the anticipation is building and growing stronger, this is when the most amount of dopamine is released. But, in order to captivate the listener into the music, that sense of anticipation needs to be resolved, or else it can leave the reader feeling tense or edgy. As well, when a piece of music is resolved, it gives the brain a sense of reward, moreover causing more dopamine release. When composing his symphonies, Beethoven would save the resolution for the very last chord, causing the brain to stay engaged while waiting for that reward of the resolution.
Generally, if a piece of music is too predictable in pattern or rhythm, it can become annoyingly boring. When music is predictable, the brain can become uninterested and inattentive. Dopamine neurons can quickly adapt to predictable rewards, therefore not becoming engaged. As a result, people do not get excited when listening to music in which there is little anticipation, and easily resolved. Many young musicians often rely on the lyrics to captivate the listener’s attention, ignoring the equally necessary progression of chords that adds to the anticipation and building that the lyrics already portray.
Some people claim music makes them smarter. Many parents expose classical music to young children in hopes of having a future Harvard graduate. As Donald A. Hodges, a professor of music and direct of Music Research Institute at the University of North Caroline explains, “The brain: Use it or lose it. The more education you have, the more the interconnections in the brain. Music changes the brain.” Thus when scientists have analyzed the brains of musicians and non-musicians, they have found substantial differences.
Scientists use the term neuroplasticity to explain the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of training and experience. “The effects of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in shaping individual development,” a Northwestern University representative states after numerous tests. Scientists have been able to link musical training to enhancement of language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion.
Many people assume that the difference between musicians and non-musicians end at one plays music and the other doesn’t. Not many realize that there are actually structural differences in the brain, varying functional differences and even changed volume of gray matter. The brain, just like a muscle, can develop based on use-dependant routine. As a result, musicians have shown to have greater amounts of gray matter in motor, auditory, and visual-spatial brain regions. Functional differences of a musician’s brain have been tested through comparing professional piano players to a control group [Krings, Topper, Foltys, and Erberich]. They were instructed to perform a series of complex finger movements while their brain activity shown on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equipment. It showed that pianists had lower levels of cortical activation in motor areas of the brain. This concluded that less neuron needed to be activated, due to long term use in this type of practice.
When parents spend countless hours playing classical music around the house for their toddlers, it’s good to know all that effort isn’t going to waste. A study conducted within the past few years found that playing music in the background for a group of four year old preschoolers for six months changed their brain structure substantially. The children that had experienced the music had significantly greater interhemispheric activity and range coherence than the control group. As well, these children had better intrahemispheric coherence within the left hemisphere of the brain. If a child is exposed to classical music before the age of seven, it greatly increases the size of the corpus callosum, which helps improve ability to incorporate sound patterns when learning a language [Strickland]. Musically inclined children also have an advantage in long term memory, pitch changes in speech, larger vocabulary and reading ability.
Some researchers say that music is an ability engrained in the matter of the brain, as old as the rocks and stones of the planet. Even though numerous studies have been conducted, there is still so much mystery behind the collection of sounds that has caused this human obsession. Scientists have been able to discover what areas of the brain are activated while listening or playing music, as well as how they can become emotionally connected to a song. Finally, one of their most important results was the change in the development of children’s brains due to exposure to music. Music changes the brain.
Work Cited
Carl, Erickson. Dopamine – A Sample Neurotransmitter. The University of Texas, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2011.
“Cognitive neuroscience of music.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundations, Inc. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.
Lehrer, Jonah. “The Neuroscience of Music.” The Frontal Cortex. Wired. 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2011.
Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Print.
“Music and the brain.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundations, Inc. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
“Music can tune up your brain.” Health & Fitness. The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 May. 2006. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
“Nucleus accumbens.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
Salimpoor, Valorie, et. al. “Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music.” Nature Neuroscience. 9 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
Tremmel, Pat. “Taking Music Seriously.” Northwestern University. Northwest University, 20 July. 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
Weinberger, Norman. “Music and the Brain.” Scientific American. 25 Oct. 2004. Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
6 comments:
> "release hormones in the brain related to immense pleasure"
This sounds like there is one part of the brain related to immense pleasure, and another related to non-immense pleasure. "Immense" seems unnecessary here.
> "scientists have posed these questions"
What questions? You have not mentioned any questions previously.
> "Music is a very enthralling and complex occurrence"
I wouldn't really call music an "occurrence". Maybe the experience of listening to ro playing music is an experience.
> "use-dependant"
use-dependEnt.
> "Music is both an emotional and an intellectual activity"
Music isn't an activity, but it is the medium of some activities, such as creating music or listening to music. This goes on throughout the essay.
> "an emotional and an intellectual"
No need for double "an".
> "It is known, though, that"
"Though" is awkward and unnecessary.
> "engross"
"engrosses", but either are a poor choice. "stimulates" or "fully engages" would be more accurate, without losing rhetoric.
> "Usually, only one side of the brain is in use,"
Dubious claim; do any of your sources back this up?
> "which makes music a peculiar activity"
What makes music a peculiar activity is that it engages the whole brain, not that only one side of the brain is in use. The structure here is unclear.
> "Amazingly enough, there are so many different aspects of music;"
Improper use of semicolon.
> "That’s what makes music so pleasurable"
"This is what makes music so pleasurable"
> "it gives people the ability to listen to the same song, and yet not be uninterested."
This is unrelated to what you just said. I'm having a difficult time understanding what this means; do you mean this property of music allows people to enjoy the same song repeatedly and not get bored of it over time?
> "the basic of a piece"
"basics"
> "timing issues"
Get rid of "issues"
> "change in tempo and timbre"
Adding "change in" here implies that the other properties of music that musicians need to be aware of are absolute, and not "changes in" as well. This is probably not what you intended.
> "are handled by different regions"
Regions of the brain, I assume?
> "Remarkably when a person"
Comma after "Remarkably"
> "additional regions are involved including the hippocampus which relates to memory and subsections of the frontal lobe."
Missing a lot of commas here. Correction left as an exercise left to the writer.
> "which provide feedback"
"which both provide feedback" would be more clear.
> "Furthermore the brain"
Comma after "Furthermore"
> "Although there is a whole industry in music which is based merely on finding which tempos, tones, and drum beats induce pleasure, the majority of the listeners are unaware of this."
What are the majority of listeners unaware of? This sentence states that the listeners are unaware of the existence of the industry, but I don't think that's what you're trying to say.
> "Therefore, they are more likely to pick up on it"
Pick up on what? Very unclear.
> "because of a weakness in that region of the brain."
"in the respective region" or "in the corresponding region" is more specific
> "Therefore, subconsciously, the brain is calculating"
You say "Therefore", but you haven't worked your way into any conclusion. It seems like you overuse the word.
> "the brain is calculating the frequencies each individual overtone"
"the brain is calculating the frequencies OF each individual overtone"
> "when a single instrument is being performed"
Instruments aren't performed, they are tools used to perform
> "listeners’ attention"
"attentionS" or "listener's"
> "listeners’ brain"
Same.
> "the listeners’ brain has already determined the key in which the song is being played, as well as possible chord progressions, and when a note does not fit into a chord, it is noticeable."
The first comma here is unneeded, and invokes an awkward pause that forces an awkward parsing of the sentence.
> "sometimes they can even identify an incorrect note within a concert band or orchestra."
Do you mean an incorrect note played by one instrument amongst a concert band or orchestra? It's vague and unclear what you mean.
> "same range as a human heart beat"
The human heart beat does not have a range of BPM, but the human heart does.
> "increase pulse"
"increase one's pulse"
> "relaxes the human bodies pulse"
"body's"
> "the cerebellum, the part of the brain associated with body movements becomes active"
Missing a comma
> "their entire spinal cord reacts to the rhythm, showing the beat patterns on the computer screens of testing machines."
I assume the spinal cord is being measured for electrical activity, which spikes synchronously with the rhythm? This is unclear from what you wrote.
> "Studies have shown that"
If you're going to do inline citation, this would be the perfect place to add some citations.
> "it also increases blood oxygenation levels"
What is "it"? As in, what is increasing BOLD? You're better off rephrasing this sentence without the word "it" here, i.e. "BOLD levels are also increased in the brain".
> "eating chocolate, having sex, snorting cocaine, or other similar activities."
Unintentionally the funniest snippet in the essay. What are you trying to imply about eating chocolate?!
> "In other words, music can be viewed as an addiction, that is only subdued when playing or listening to music."
Dubious statement that isn't necessarily backed up by preceding statements. Also, music isn't an addiction, but it might be addictive (still a dubious claim). Consider your sentence above with the word "cocaine" instead of music (and "consuming cocaine" instead of "listening to music;" it is nonsensical.
> "Various people have commented on this theory, saying that they have indeed felt that they could not live without music."
This isn't a very convincing statement. It would probably be best to leave this sentence out.
> "Although this seems like a simple concept,"
Trade "Although" with "but" later on in the sentence.
> "surpassing expectation"
"expectationS"
> "But, in order to captivate the listener into the music, that sense of anticipation needs to be resolved, or else it can leave the reader feeling tense or edgy."
You're mixing your analogies by using listener and reader in the same thought.
> "As well, when a piece of music is resolved"
"As well" is unnecessary. Like "therefore", you seem to like to append words at the beginning of your sentences to create flow, but it's not so simple. Doing this to create flow is a writer's crutch. If you need to add these words to create flow, then it's a symptom that your sentences are either arranged or constructed improperly, or they are completely missing ideas in between.
Also, "reaches resolution" is better than "is resolved".
> "it gives the brain a sense of reward, moreover causing more dopamine release."
Not "moreover"; the dopamine IS the sense of reward.
> "When composing his symphonies, Beethoven would save the resolution for the very last chord, causing the brain to stay engaged while waiting for that reward of the resolution."
Interesting observation!
> "When music is predictable, the brain can become uninterested and inattentive."
This is strikingly similar to the previous sentence. You used a lot of words to add very little utility.
> "not becoming engaged."
"becoming unengaged."
> "in which there is little anticipation, and easily resolved"
Incorrect structure; this is the equivalent to "in which there is little anticipation, and in which there is easily resolved".
> "chords that adds to the anticipation and building that the lyrics already portray."
Neither chords nor lyrics add buildings to anything =)
> "As Donald A. Hodges, a professor of music and direct of Music Research Institute at the University of North Caroline explains, “The brain: Use it or lose it. The more education you have, the more the interconnections in the brain. Music changes the brain.”"
No! Donald A. Hodges has explained nothing to the reader in this quote! This is a *huge* appeal to authority fallacy. I know you had trouble finding a more relevant quote, but this is unacceptable. This statement is like "the 13th chime of a clock, not only does it make no sense, but it calls into question the validity of the 12 chimes that preceded it." [(source)](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ge2pd/whats_the_best_or_weirdest_insult_youve_ever_heard/c1mxcmb). It makes me wonder off of what you based your research!
> "the difference between musicians and non-musicians end at one plays music and the other doesn’t"
"end at the fact that", and replace "one" and "the other" with "musicians" and "non-musicians", respectively.
> "use-dependant"
Same as beginning.
> "functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)"
No need to abbreviate if you're never going to refer to it again. Same comment applies to rest of essay, if you've done this in other places as well.
> "less neuron needed to be activated"
"neuronS"
> "due to long term use in this type of practice."
"activity" instead of "practice"
> "When parents spend countless hours playing classical music around the house for their toddlers, it’s good to know all that effort isn’t going to waste."
Instead, "It's good to know that, when parents spend... toddlers, all THEIR effort..."
> "four year old"
"four year-old"
> "As well, these children"
Replace "As well" with "More specifically"
> "If a child is exposed to classical music before the age of seven, it greatly increases the size"
Instead, "The exposure of classical music to children before the age of seven greatly increases..."
> "Musically inclined children also have an advantage in long term memory, pitch changes in speech, larger vocabulary"
An advantage in larger vocabulary? Rearrange sentence to avoid this problem.
> "Some researchers say that music is an ability engrained in the matter of the brain, as old as the rocks and stones of the planet"
There is no brain older than the rocks and stones of the planet.
> "Finally, one of their most important results was the change in the development of children’s brains due to exposure to music."
What is being finalized here? Nothing is being finalized. I understand that this sentence is a summary of the last paragraph in the body of your essay, but conclusions aren't supposed to be specifically a collection of one-sentence summaries of your essay. This has poor flow.
> "Work Cited"
"WorkS Cited"
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Interesting essay otherwise. There were some insightful observations and scientific tidbits, but, from the way you quoted your research, I am not convinced of the veracity or accuracy of these observations. Also, you seem to need to work on your flow, but this gets better with practice. I would say this is a good essay for a high schooler, so hopefully that's the level you are at now.
Thanx for stopping by and all the input on my essay! Wow, that must of taken you a long time... I wish I would've posted my essay BEFORE I handed it in, lol. Yes, I am in fact in highschool (Grade 9 actually) and it is my first research essay. Everyone else in the class did stuff like whales and dolphins and monkeys, but I wanted something a little harder. Hope you continue to stop by and edit my essays! That's SOOOO awesome!
That's one long essay. That must have taken a lot of time. Good Job!!!! =D LOL
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