Music and the Brain

My friends and I attended a lecture on "Music and the Brain", by Dr. Douglas Anderson. He is a neuro-surgeon and a professional singer.

Dr. Anderson talked first about "consciousness". To demonstrate something about this, he sang "Peace Be Unto You" (Der Friede sei mit dir) from Bach's Cantata No. 158. He said that consciousness is a qualitative experience -- you have a sense of what is happening, sensations of light -- of mood. He said these experiences are subjective, that is, they are experienced only by the person who has the experience and have no existence outside of that person. These experiences are single and unified. He stressed that "consciousness" is "real". It can be seen on an MRI Image. He showed us an animated "coronal orientation" that occurred when someone was listening to "Et Incarnatus" from Bach's B Minor Mass. This music is particularly known for its evocative and dramatic nature. You can hear it here:



As early as 1861, Broca discovered the modular character of the brain. He identified 54 divisions of the brain. He identified specific brain sites for language. Later on, researchers discovered the sites for emotion in the brain. These sites are verified through the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain. Researchers also identified the left side of the brain as the site for music and language and the right side of the brain as another site for music. The auditory sections of the brain are much larger than originally believed. This was probably necessary as a survival tool. There are three different sites for auditory functions of the brain:
1) Listening to words
2) Thinking of words
3) Speaking words

Music and language look very similar on MRI and they seem to be processed in overlapping areas of the brain.

One of the most interesting aspects of Dr. Anderson's lecture was the notion that there may be individual receptors in the brain for each musical note. The auditory cortical areas respond to musical stimuli in the following ways: the right superior temporal lobe responds to pitch evaluation. Speech activates the left side.

"Et in spiritus sanctus" from Bach's B Minor Mass was the next musical offering. Dr. Anderson stated that, with experienced music listeners, metabolic activity increases as the tonal stimulus becomes more consonant. And, different parts of the brain are stimulated by different kinds of music!







Dr. Anderson cited a study by Janata et al. in Science for December 2002, in which they showed that the relative representation of tonal tracking provides a mechanism by which transposition from key to key can occur without the loss of internal pitch relationship and tonal coherence. To demonstrate this, Dr. Paul Bouman played Bach's "Confiteor" from the B minor Mass on the keyboard. This music constantly shifts from key to key and is never at rest until the end. One key is linked to another.

This photo shows MRI responses to different keys in the brains of three experienced music listeners.

In conclusion, Dr. Anderson stated that music is not "brain candy". Rather, it can be viewed as a precursor to speech. In fact, many languages have a tonal aspect. Music is related to specific sites in the brain which are different from other auditory input. Music can alter emotional states. Interestingly, he remarked that, as of now, no site for "consciousness" has been identified in the brain.

He concluded the lecture with the singing of "Magnificat" by Bach. "For He that is Mighty hath done to me great things and Holy is His Name."













Douglas Anderson, M.D.