A Mind for Music There Are Very Few Activities for Which Your Birthday Suit and a Three-Piece Suit Are Equally Appropriate Attire

(((( special section )))) A mind for music There are very few activities for which your birthday suit and a three-piece suit are equally appropriate attire. Music is one of them. Belting an improvised ditty alone in the shower and performing Handel’s “Messiah” on stage with a full choral ensemble and orchestra both qualify as “song.” Simple or intricate, practiced or spontaneous, individual or collective, highbrow or honky- tonk — music covers the gamut. And though instruments aren’t instrumental, they are welcome and multifarious. Bells, drums, strings, woodwinds, harps or horns can certainly spice up a tune. (Though a Stradivarius may not survive a shower.) But music’s broad scope doesn’t stop with its production. More fascinating than how people make music (and greater mysteries, perhaps) are why people make it, why others listen and how a beat of any sort can have such a profound impact on the body and the brain. Coos and ahs exchanged by moms and babies around the globe may form a musical conversation that lays the groundwork for language, some scientists now propose. That notion joins others — including the desire to impress mates and the drive to build social bonds — in suggesting an evolutionary source of chanteys, dirges and ballads. Others see music as a pleasing diversion, and research shows that emotionally charged music — whether moving a person to tears of joy or calling forth memories of a failed romance — appears to activate the brain’s reward circuitry. And while listening to music brings on an emotional rush, playing music may provide a mental boost. It turns out that musical training has benefits to the tune of improved understanding of grammatical rules and sharper auditory perception. Though music’s tendency to get charged with cultural, religious and emotional meaning may complicate things for scientists seeking its roots and benefits, it’s that same tendency that makes pursuing the “what,” “why” and “how” of music worthwhile. — Elizabeth Quill In this section Birth of the beat ��18 Your brain on music ��27 Seeking a definition ��21 Songs from the Stone Age ��28

Not just a pleasant sound ��22 Evidence of ancient roots ��28 .com e More than a feeling ��24 Music of the hemispheres ��30

Moody tunes ��25 Take two stanzas ��32

amstim e Web edition

For pdfs of this special section and related audio files, visit www.sciencenews.org/music © Ericmilos/Dr ©

www.sciencenews.org August 14, 2010 | science news | 17 (((( a mind for music )))) birth of the beat

t scientific meetings, psycho- “Babies are born with a musical readi- biologist Colwyn Trevarthen ness that includes a basic sense of timing often plays a video of a and rhythm,” declares Trevarthen, of the Birth 5-month-old Swedish girl giv- University of Edinburgh. Aing her mother a musical surprise. Blind Scientists have been finding that these from birth, the girl reaches for a bottle chubby-cheeked cherubs heed a musical and laughs appreciatively as her mother sense that moves them and grooves them of the launches into a familiar song about feed- long before they utter a word. Within a ing blueberries to a bear. As in baby day or two after birth, babies recognize songs everywhere, Trevarthen says, each the first beat in a sound sequence; neural beat line of the Swedish tune runs about four signs of surprise appear when that ini- seconds and each stanza lasts about 20. tial “downbeat” goes missing. Classical Music’s roots may In a flash, the girl raises her left music lights up specific hearing areas arm — an arm she has never seen — and in newborns’ right brains. Even more lie in melodic begins conducting her mother’s perfor- intriguingly, babies enter the world cry- exchanges between mance. The baby, named Maria, moves ing in melodic patterns that the little her arm just before many of the song’s ones have heard in their mothers’ con- mothers and babies lines begin, leading her mother by about versations for at least two months while one-third of a second. In some cases, in the womb (SN: 12/5/09, p. 14). By Bruce Bower Maria synchronizes her hand move- But infants do much more than pick Photograph by Cary Wolinsky ments with the rise and fall up beats and mimic melodies, says of her mother’s voice. Trevarthen. An inborn musical knack Mom’s face glows gets parlayed by babies into emotional in response to banter with attending adults, who pos- Maria’s playful sess their own musical feel for infant directions. care. Adults around the world intuitively

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” and other sing-alongs may prepare babies to learn social rituals, scientists propose.

C. Trevarthen, adapted by T. DubÉ www.sciencenews.org cultures native their from learn infants that origins, evolutionary mysterious still- with practice,universal a as regard music They musicologists. and gists psycholo- cognitive many from though, ever isavailable. who with musically relate to darndest their try tykes unfortunate notes,these emotional problemslaterinchildhood. strikes a sour note may display social and tors find. Infants whose first relationship investiga babies, their with musically ality and mental disorders fail to connect a prelude to learning cultural practices. babies to sing and act out simple songs as prod everywhere mothers that suggest findings cultures.Other across respects finely calibrated ways that differ in some tots vocally express and share emotions in musicalstories indicates that moms and tured yarns spun by babies and mothers. drama, spring from the intricately struc Adult forms of music, as well as dance the and learn rhythms and to format of a native language. infants prepares telling Trevarthen. says beginning,” the from musicality of component essential an is that sense that tuneupabuddingrelationship. vignettes musical brief compose and baby mom birth, of weeks Within ers. moth with sync in them gets musical aptitude natural Babies’ musicality.” wordless conversation “communicative this call researchers like-minded and Trevarthen sounds. other coos, and squeals expressions, facial gestures, of exchanges coordinated of consists tion communica of currency the Here, act. inter to grown-up a by invited being they’re when know infants and adults, tionally prompt musical exchanges with eyed gab. Instead, he holds, infants inten googly- adults’ absorb passively babies known asmotherese. sounds and words of mix exaggerated speak to infants using a singsong, vocally Trevarthen’s views draw criticism, criticism, draw views Trevarthen’s Trevarthen babies, healthy like But person- from suffer who women And early these probing research New story musical perspective, his From storytelling a possess brains “Our that notion the rejects Trevarthen ------ mother’s voice. way, sheanticipated themovement inher phrase oftheSwedish songbegan.Inthis how Maria’s left index finger moved (horizontally and vertically) throughout the familiarher sense tune. of rhythm by lifting her arm and conducting her mother’s singing. and mothers, are telling musical stories. Trevarthen and his colleagues, that not suspect babies critics Some perspective. this fromdo, adults that melodiessame the prefer to and beat a keep to learn seamlessly babies days, first Fromtheir without the help of an innate timekeeper. s Index finger tip displacement Baby conductor researchers Hanuš and Mechthild European Papoušek asserted 1981, In idea. exchanges basedonmusicalprinciples. mind as a shorthand term for emotional later, communicative musicality weeks came to few A pitched recalls. he replies,” baby’s vocal the and promptings gentle mother’s the to give-and-take feeling thebeatofmusicalsounds. to accustomed was Malloch research, into him pushed fright violin stage whose ist trained a As foot. his tapping earlier,was years he noticed17 Malloch videotaped had Trevarthen daugh who ter, 6-week-old her and mother in Australia, coinedthetermin1996. Sydney Western of University the at musicologist a Malloch, musicality. communicative on take Trevarthen’s with problem no has Malloch Stephen Story time Mariamoved herfingerjustbeforeeach Br ummelli-br

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from top: music notes - Aaltazar/istockphoto arrangement of notes t dubÉ; SPL/Photo Researchers, Inc. www.sciencenews.org tion breakdowns that afflict babies born communica examined have Diderot Paris Université of Apter-Danon Gisèle psychiatrist and X–Nanterre Paris sité to water. of fistfuls grab trying like are exchanges melodic into mom pull to efforts that alone and alienated so feel mothers Their tion. determina test spider’s itsy-bitsy would an even that rejection of form a ritualized face though, babies, Some Unhinged melody Psychologist Maya Gratier of Univer of PsychologistGratier Maya to endlessmusicalpossibilities, from“FürElise”toLaBamba.” overall atatimeleads speedofapiece.Changingmultiple factors Dion soundsdifferentfromMacyGray. Tempo characterizesthe from another tion. Andtimbre, ortonalquality, distinguishesoneinstrument over ofseveral notes, thecourse openseven moreroomforvaria- Dynamics, howloudeachnoteisandthatloudnesschanges mixintoaffectthecharacterofpiece. harmony. Otherfactors to createchords, ratherthanjustsuccessively, they canleadto sentence. Andwhendifferentnotesareplayed atthesametime of melodies, thesameway thecombinationofwordsmakes a Combining differentpitchesandrhythms allowsforthecreation Pitch notes of“T withfewer few Othercultureswork tones. The first of 440hertz. with theAatmiddleofapianokeyboard having afrequency Westernpitches. Modern music, forexample, combines12tones, ferent positionsonamusicalscale, calledtones, have different nn” vary onlyinnoteduration. the Beachoys’ “BarbaraAnn”vary several notesof line;itlastsforonebeat.Thefirst with avertical note,circles. Aquarter forexample, isdrawn asaclosedcircle differently inwrittenmusic:Somehave littleflags, dots oropen amounts oftime.Noteswithdifferentdurationsarerepresented Rhythm with her child, music at its most basic level is a sequence of notes that can vary in a number of ways. Seeking a definition is determined by isdetermined asound’s frequency. Notesthatsitindif- emerges because different notes can last for varying emergesbecausedifferentnotescanlastforvarying winkle, T — a pianosoundsdifferentfromtuba, andCeline winkle, onlyinpitch. LittleStar”vary movable bridge pitches forming simple ratios are played together, they sound pleasant.be pleasing to qualify? features makes music, others say music is more than the sum of its parts. music today, if a string producing the note the string was half the length of the other, it created two notes that sound lovely together. ( Considering beauty understand why some music sings and other tunes fall flat. the other. higher.)

Whether strummed by a guitarist who has gone platinum or sung by a mom who is playing A pleasing blend also occurred when one side was two-thirds or three-fourths the length of U sing these ratios, - - -

— ers and their babies from birth to about to birth from babies their and ers tions of about 150 pairs of French moth- interac the tracked has that project a and neglect. abandonment. abuse child severe survived have Many fear constantly and empty emotionally impulsively,feel act form to intense, unstable relationships. tendency a around revolves condition This disorder. personality borderline with diagnosed mothers to

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21 (((( a mind for music )))) birth of the beat

sound in edgewise. They withdraw from Undaunted, the boy immediately Once again, the boy became an observer, mothers with borderline personalities, belted out a louder sound. That stopped not a participant. vocalize little or get fussy and upset. his mother long enough so that he “The interactions of borderline moth- One 3-month-old boy in the French could utter a cooing sound, with a few ers with their babies appear more like study tried his best to spark an emo- emotionally tinged pitch changes, for compilations of isolated moments that tional dialog with his mother during a about as long as the nursery rhyme’s probably impede the creation of shared 27-second encounter, Gratier says. The initial phrase. musical story lines,” Gratier says. woman drearily repeated the same line Gratier and Apter-Danon inter- Depressed mothers offer a more from a French nursery rhyme four times. pret the 3-month-old’s behavior as an varied verbal diet to their babies than Her son then blurted out “ahhh!” just attempt to lure his mother into a musi- borderline mothers, but in an unusu- as she launched into a fifth rendition. cal exchange. It briefly worked, they say. ally low, unexpressive voice devoid of Caught off guard, the woman exclaimed The woman imitated his cooing sound rhythmic timing, according to studies “What?” before regaining composure once with her characteristic flat tone. directed by psychologist Lynne Murray and resuming her dry recitation. Then she returned to her signature line. of the University of Reading in Eng-

to let loose, experiment of peace. In a society Not just a pleasant sound and declare their indepen- where men hold higher When people use music to share stories, comfort peers or worship gods, dence. In the early 1990s, status than women, the it takes on new meaning. Music’s roles vary depending on time and place. municipalities across the songs empower women: United States and United Going against the songs Bonding: Battle hymns, Bergstedt and arranged enous people of northern Kingdom passed bylaws is considered shameful. ork/ national anthems and alma by famous composer and Europe, have a traditional to limit the organization of w maters unite people for a violinist Carl Nielsen. form of song called yoik these raves. Mourning: Dirges are common cause and make said to open the door an integral part of funer- turenet c them feel that they are a Creative expression: for communication with Worship: A wide range of als for the Akpafu of part of something larger. The Chopi people of animal spirits. Drumming religions employ music. In southeastern Ghana. A orldpi w Marching bands (above), Mozambique are known for helps the shamans enter Indian tradition, bhajans ceremony begins when for example, can rile up their timbila music, played the spiritual world. express love for God (holy drums are beaten to crowds and promote pride on xylophones. The music

terfile; men shown above). Gos- announce the death s at sporting events. and accompanying dance Learning: The “Alphabet pel music helps Christians to various clans. While /Ma s is developed like a sym- Song,” among other sim- praise God. And, though clans are assembling, s age Relaxation: Mothers in phony and also has room ple rhymes, helps children music is not a large part women begin to sing the Im

hoto almost all societies sing for individual players to learn and remember facts.

P of Islamic tradition, five first funeral dirge. Each lullabies to put little ones improvise and show their Some researchers believe times a day Muslims are activity of the burial cere- arding H urora to sleep. Called a huluna creativity. Like music else- that early songs, such as called to prayer as a mony has special dirges. A / s in the Philippines province where, timbila helps the “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” may muezzin chants in praise And 30 to 40 different o obert R sm of Batangas, the lullaby Chopi share who they are also prepare infants to of Allah from the top of songs may be heard S; is so popular there that and where they come from. learn cultural rules and a mosque’s minaret. while family keeps watch oy/Co ORBI

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m known as hakamas The ncas, a brass mouth T o c form. A classic Danish (one shown above in a subculture that turns (shown above) use chant- harp, is played by Hmong lullaby, “The Sun is So British Columbia) to enter against traditional ways. like songs to motivate men outside the wall of inder. F Red, Mother,” was written a trance state and get All-night dance parties men to fight in wartime a lover’s house. Though e, top left: s

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22 | science news | August 14, 2010 www.sciencenews.org

land. Infants interact hesitantly with Musical divide groundwork for spoken language, says depressed mothers, mimicking their Under better circumstances, mom and Dissanayake. low, flat vocal delivery. baby embark on a maiden voyage of Today’s music, from Ludwig van Borderline personality disorder and improvisation, says Ellen Dissanayake, Beethoven to Lady Gaga, has trans- depression alike deprive women of the a professor of art and music at the Uni- formed the temporal arts into a com- flexibility and expressiveness needed for versity of Washington in Seattle. Musical mercial enterprise that can still draw communicating musically with babies, ad-libbing of this type relies on timing people from around the world into tribes Gratier holds. When there’s no room for techniques similar to those used by jazz bound by shared feelings and rituals (SN: playful musical exchanges, interactive musicians, Dissanayake proposes. A 4/11/09, p. 14), Dissanayake asserts. Con- sync is sunk. In their long-term study, regular beat and timed melodic passages sider the pilgrimages that far-flung opera Gratier and Apter-Danon find that dis- provide a structure for jazz instrumen- lovers take to hear famed vocalists and rupted musical communication between talists to synchronize their playing and the popularity of all-night raves. mothers and babies heralds social diffi- take turns soloing. Like jazz musicians, Her evolutionary scenario, like com- culties for these children in preschool. mothers and babies negotiate novel municative musicality itself, stands twists and turns in the flow of commu- defiantly outside mainstream music nication, building up emotional tension research. “This mother-infant stuff that they resolve together. seems a little squishy to many scien- Scientists already knew, she notes, tists,” Dissanayake says. that 4-month-olds who coordinate Trevarthen and colleagues weave a pauses, turn taking and other conver- fanciful story around a threadbare body sational rhythms with mothers — with- of data, asserts psychologist Sandra out becoming rigidly synchronized and Trehub of the University of Toronto unable to adjust — interact well with oth- at Mississauga, a pioneer in studying ers at age 1 (SN: 6/23/01, p. 390). That’s infants’ music perception. Music’s evo- consistent with the idea that mothers lutionary origins remain unknown, she and babies employ just enough musical emphasizes (see “Songs from the Stone Age,” Page 28). they will inevitably switch way, much of the music structure in their encounters to enable to the ncas to woo a becomes cyclical, with creative storytelling, thus grooming the “According to its proponents, commu- chosen gal. Lloyd (John no clear end. child to deal flexibly with others. nicative musicality has boundless scope, Cusack) may have had Dissanayake theorizes that musical so it’s an idea than can neither be proven the same idea in Say Mythology: Among communication between mothers and nor falsified,” Trehub says. Anything when he lifted a Aboriginal Australians, Babies notice rhythmic downbeats boom box playing Peter each clan may share babies emerged roughly 2 million years Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” songs that tell stories ago in the Homo genus, well before the and react to melodies with wondrous above his head. about the journeys that emergence of language. With the evolu- expressions even when by themselves, mythical ancestors took tion of physically helpless babies need- “so social communication is unlikely Work: Sea chanteys are as they carved valleys ing years to grow big brains, nonverbal to provide a complete answer to early onboard working songs, and built mountains to musicality,” adds psychologist Marcel the rhythm of which create the Earth’s land- exchanges that bonded infants to their helps synchronize the scape. The songs trace mothers became essential. Zentner of the University of York repetitive movements of ancestral history, tie In her view, Stone Age foragers trans- in England. sailors. There are differ- the people to the land formed two-way musical communica- Trevarthen remains undeterred. The ent songs that provide and lay down rules of tion into the temporal arts — singing, next scientific step, he says, is to devise the right tempo for hoist- conduct. a measure of musical interactions that ing sails, hauling nets playing instruments, dancing, making and pulling up anchors. Entertainment: Music expressive gestures, reciting poetic combines facial expressions and ges- is a whole-body phenom- stories, clapping hands and beating out tures with vocalizations. Social interaction: enon. In some cases, rhythms. In small-scale societies, she Eventually, Trevarthen insists, Much of African music it lightens the mood or says, the temporal arts convey messages researchers everywhere will tap their takes the form of call passes the time. From feet to the sounds of music reverberat- and response, meaning noh, a traditional form in ritual ceremonies, such as the need to the activity is participa- of Japanese musical appease gods believed to control vital ing in mother-baby chatter.  tory. A leader will sing or theater that dates to the resources. Such practices lessen wor- play an instrument and 14th century, to the pop ries about life’s uncertainties and fuel Explore more the rest of the group concerts of today, watch- group cohesion. ss S. Malloch and C. Trevarthen, eds. will respond with hoots, ing others make music hollers, clapping or a makes people feel good. By creating stories out of precisely Communicative Musicality: Exploring traditional refrain. In this — Elizabeth Quill timed sounds and movements, Stone the Basis of Human Companionship. Age mothers and babies laid the Oxford University Press, 2009.

www.sciencenews.org August 14, 2010 | science news | 23 (((( a mind for music )))) more than a feeling More than a feeling Emotionally evocative, yes, but music goes much deeper

By Susan Gaidos s Photograph by Cary Wolinsky

nyone who has felt the sting ads all know how to tune an audience’s those responsible for emotion, memory, of tears while listening to a mood along a dial ranging from sad and motor control, timing and language. bugler play “Taps,” swooned glum to cheerful and chipper. While the lyrics of a song activate lan- to a love song or cringed with But neuroscientists might have some- guage centers, such as Broca’s area, other Airritation as a neighbor cranked the thing to say about how music orches- parts of the brain may connect the tune heavy metal knows that music can exert trates such profound emotional effects to a long-ago association — a first kiss or a a powerful emotive effect. on the brain. And understanding the how road trip down the coast, perhaps. And you don’t need a neuroscientist may offer a hint as to why music affects “It’s like the brain is on fire when to tell you that manipulating a melody’s humans so powerfully. you’re listening to music,” says Istvan pace, tone and intensity can stir the Over the past decade or so, studies have Molnar-Szakacs, a neuroscientist at the emotions. Composers of symphonies, shown that music stimulates numerous University of California, Los Angeles. pop tunes, movie sound tracks and TV regions of the brain all at once, including “In terms of brain imaging, studies have (((( a mind for music )))) more than a feeling

shown listening to music lights up, or activates, more of the brain than any Moody tunes other stimulus we know.” To explore the effect that music has on the mind, Science News asked That music can activate so many brain researchers to share a song they enjoy and the emotion it evokes. systems at once is the reason it packs such a mental wallop. It exerts its most Ethan Ross, physician while, and in spite of the Holly Gibbs, profound effect in the brain’s emotional Song: “Dark Star” by the struggles we face in living.” conservation scientist Grateful Dead Song: “Wagon Wheel” by core, the limbic system. There, music Emotion: “Elation, Eugenie Scott, Old Crow Medicine Show changes virtually all areas of the brain euphoria and wonder.” physical anthropologist Emotion: “Anticipation and responsible for regulating emotion, as Song: “The Green and the longing.” neuroscientist Stefan Koelsch of Freie Virginia Naples, Blue” by the Battlefield Universität Berlin describes in the March vertebrate paleontologist Band Kevin Padian, Song: “The Wreck of the Emotion: “Empathy and evolutionary biologist Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Music Edmund Fitzgerald” by sympathy.” Song: “Won’t Get Fooled automatically engages areas essential Gordon Lightfoot Again” by The Who to pleasure and reward. So much so, in Emotion: “Sadness and Chuck Steidel, Emotion: “Rage and hope fact, that the same pleasure centers in nostalgia for knowing astrophysicist at the same time.” the brain light up whether you’re listen- about past events.” Song: “Halah” by Mazzy Star Emotion: “We used to Margaret McFall-Ngai, ing to a favorite tune, eating chocolate Alan Boss, play this around 3:30 a.m. microbiologist or having sex. planetary scientist while observing on the Song: “Girls Just Wanna These dramatic effects make music Song: Beethoven’s Ninth Mauna Kea summit, so an Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper a valuable instrument for probing the Emotion: “... the joy of exhilarated exhaustion, a Emotion: “Carefree life. It brain’s emotional circuitry. Koelsch and being alive, at least for a partial dream state.” makes me smile big.” others are now using music as a tool to Feelings evoked by different musical genres 50 see how the brain processes a wide range

Classical 2008 of feelings such as sorrow, joy, longing 40 Jazz n Rock

and wonder. Some of these emotions, so emotio / easily felt in response to music, are other- 30 et al et wise difficult to evoke in an experimental

ting emotion 20 setup. Other researchers are using music ercent of people P to explore how children with autism spec- repor 10 e: m. Zentner trum disorders process emotion. While c our 0 s these kids often have difficulty recogniz- Joyful Sentimental Amused Melancholic Serene Disinhibited ing how others feel, they readily respond to the sentiments of a song. Using music to study and stimulate rience that music delivers is primarily trouble of carving a flute, humans banged the brain’s emotional circuits may lead a social, rather than an individual, out tunes using sticks and stones. Given to new therapies for treating a wide range phenomenon (see “Not just a pleasant that music gave early flutists and their of emotional disorders, including depres- sound,” Page 22). Ages before people fans no direct biological advantage over sion, anxiety and post-traumatic stress walked around with little wires in their rival creatures — sweet melodies couldn’t disorder, scientists say. By understand- ears to listen to music anytime, any- put food on the stone slab or guarantee ing how music activates and coordinates where, tunes piped on flutes and reeds grandchildren — researchers have long the various emotional mechanisms in the were probably used in tribal rituals to wondered why humans developed the brain, scientists may find ways to rewire unify hunters and warriors about to do capacity to perform and enjoy it. a brain affected by illness or injury, or battle. Today, music helps pull people Though music may not have evolved provide a work-around for damaged or together at weddings, funerals and for survival purposes, modern-day imag- underperforming brain regions. countless social events. ing techniques reveal that it can have Despite the long list of potential ben- the same effects on the brain as many efits for health and happiness, Koelsch In my head survival-related activities. In 2001, contends that the deep, complex expe- Music is universal. It occurs in all human neuroscientists Anne Blood and Robert cultures in some form, and extends deep Zatorre of McGill University in Montreal Musician Moussa Traoré, far left, leads into human history. Archaeologists have asked people to listen to music deemed a djembe drum circle in a West African unearthed flutes made of bone that date so moving by these participants that it rhythm. New brain studies highlight the back nearly 40,000 years. And scientists “sent shivers down the spine.” Blood, emotional and social aspects of music. say that long before someone went to the now at Harvard, and Zatorre showed that

www.sciencenews.org August 14, 2010 | science news | 25 (((( a mind for music )))) more than a feeling

music activates neural systems of reward centers — and boost activity of the brain a week, patients may tune the brain to and emotion similar to those stimulated chemical dopamine, a molecule involved improve mood (see “Take two stanzas by food, sex and addictive drugs. in desire and reward. The more you like and call me in the morning,” Page 32). Brain scans done using positron emis- a particular piece of music, the more Already, research confirms that most sion tomography, or PET, showed that jazzed you may get. Last fall, in a study in people are better off with a dose of increases in the “chill” intensity of the PLoS One, Zatorre and his group showed music. Soothing music seems to lower music correlated with changes in activ- that the higher participants rated a song, heart rate and blood pressure, and stud- ity in the pleasure centers of the brain, the more emotionally aroused they got. ies show that music can be a valuable including increases in blood flow to the Other studies show that the amygdala companion to traditional treatments for brain’s reward circuit — the midbrain, the kicks into action when volunteers listen cancer, stroke and postoperative pain. ventral striatum and parts of the cortex. to eerie-sounding or unpleasant music. Recently, Koelsch’s team showed At the same time, decreases in blood (Consider waking at 2 a.m. to the sound that making music boosts mood, even flow were seen in the brain’s limbic sys- of a partying neighbor’s heavy metal.) if you’re not musically inclined. In the tem, a primitive region that governs Together, the findings suggest that study, 81 nonmusicians broke into small the emotional response to a given situ- music has the capacity to both turn groups and played instruments while ation. Structures in this region include on and tone down neural activity in listening to excerpts of classical, jazz, the amygdala, known as the brain’s the brain. Irish folk, salsa and reggae music. A fear center; the hippocampus, which is control group of 73 listened to recorded important for memory; and the nucleus Good vibrations music played on a computer, using accumbens, involved in pleasure. Knowing how music activates and coor- sticks to keep in time with the beat. In 2006, Koelsch and his group found dinates the brain’s emotional and reward Before and after their jam sessions, that simply listening to joyful, pleas- circuits could help scientists develop participants completed a questionnaire ant music can lead to activity changes new types of music therapies, Koelsch designed to assess mood. Those in the in all of these structures, even if people says. Information on how the amyg- instrument group reported lower levels don’t report having intense “chilling” dala responds to various types of music, of depression, anxiety and fatigue, and experiences. Since then, studies carried for example, would allow researchers an increase in vigor after the session. out by him and others have elucidated to target this area: tweaking it to calm Volunteers in the control group showed additional areas of the brain specifically fear-related activity in patients with no such boost in mood. activated by music. Findings show that anxiety disorders or boost pleasure- Koelsch credits the change, at least in the brain areas stimulated depend on related activity in depressed patients. By part, to music’s ability to engage various the type of music: Listening to a favor- listening to a specially designed music social functions. He plans to test this idea ite tune will light up the brain’s reward program for 30 minutes a day, five days by comparing people who make music in a group with those who play solo. Getting chills Listening to music you find moving can change activity in brain areas associated with emotion and reward. One study found that blood flow increased in the midbrain and ventral stria- Emotional rescue tum (left) and decreased in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala (right). While music’s power can easily be seen source: modified from a. blood and r. zatorre/pnas 2001 in ordinary people, its effects may be even more marked in those with autism. Music therapy has long been used to treat Ventral medial autism, but how and to what extent such Midbrain prefrontal cortex therapy worked was not well understood. Four years ago, UCLA’s Molnar-Szakacs began thinking of ways to study music and emotional processing in children with autism spectrum disorders. In a recent study using functional MRI, he and his colleagues compared brain activity in autistic children with Hippocampus and amygdala that in typically developing kids tasked to identify emotions in music. The find- Ventral ings, presented in Barcelona in June at striatum the Organization for Human Brain Map- ping’s annual meeting, reveal that chil- 2.5 3.0 3.6 4.2 4.7 -6.8 -5.7 -4.7 -3.6 -2.5 dren with autism spectrum disorder are

26 | science news | August 14, 2010 www.sciencenews.org

charles floyd www.sciencenews.org makes people tap their feet, encourages the recollection of vivid memories and has the potential to lighten the mood. 8. 7. 6. The inside track 2. 1. Around the outside Your brain on music

Amygdala: Hippocampus: Cerebellum: Motor cortex: Prefrontal cortex: in music is emotionally satisfying. suggest the skillful repetition heard to chills tends to affect it. Studies minor chords, and music that leads I to be involved in musical memories. ramp up. involved inself-initiatedthoughts shutsdown,formance whileparts involved inmonitoringper- cortex oftheprefrontal visation apart hasshownthatduringimpro- work Recent when abeatgoesmissing. tations. Itmay react, forinstance, satisfaction andviolationofexpec- region plays aroleinthecreation, ally chargedmusic. vated during pleasant or emotion - possibly explaining why it is acti experience and to a given context, music they have heard before to an context. ries that give a sound meaning or may help the brain retrieve memo pocampus (part of which is shown) role in long-term memory, the hip major and minor chords. to sense the difference between able or familiar music, and appears side of music, lighting up with lik is also involved in the emotional ple track the beat. timing and synchrony; it helps peo because of the cerebellum’s role in thisof the part brain. foot-tapping and dancing activate link to the auditory cortex. link totheauditory notes,hears suggestingastrong simply is engagedwhenaperson some cases, thisareaofthebrain timed physical movements. In requirescarefully an instrument getsinvolved. Andplaying cortex good beat, meaningthemotor and dancingoftenaccompany a pendent ofmotion.F t reacts differently to major and I t also helps people link T

he amygdala seems M Musicisnotinde- ovements such as Known to play a T he cerebellum oot-tapping Thisbrain T his could be - - - - - Music lights up almost every area of the brain, which shouldn’t be a surprise since it 9. 3. Nucleus accumbens: cortex: Sensory through thereleaseofdopamine. reacts to emotional music, perhaps the centerofreward system.It isthoughttobe brain structure for example. cortex, askeys arehit, sages tothesensory sends tactilemes- Playing aninstrument 1

This 4. Auditory cortex: Auditory analysis oftones. of pitchesfortheperceptionand this region, whichcontainsamap sound, includingmusic, involves 2 9 3 8 Hearingany 7 4 August 14, 2010 5. visual cortex. ments activatesthe a performer’s move- ing musicorwatching Visual cortex: cortex: Visual

Sour 6 science news science A .K. .K. of the New York York New the of of Scie of c T e: D.J. D.J. e: irovola n ce L evitin an evitin s s 2009 / Ann Read- A al cadem d s

y 27 5 (((( a mind for music )))) more than a feeling

as accurate as “neurotypical” children at In the study, children with autism group has developed a music-based pro- identifying emotion in music and show seemed adept at picking up on patterns in gram to help kids match and recognize the same level of brain activation. Previ- the music to identify the emotion, Molnar- various emotions — such as happiness, ous studies have shown less brain activ- Szakacs says. When asked how they made sadness and surprise — in social settings. ity in kids with autism than in typical their decisions, the kids said that fast, “It sounds a little like Pavlovian learn- kids when looking at emotional faces. loud, jumpy rhythms sounded happy, ing, but it’s not,” he says. “The goal is to “It seems like music acts as a sort of while slower, quiet music seemed sad. not just have happy music playing with a in, or doorway, to the [emotional] recog- His group is now looking to see how happy face, but to have children learn to nition system of children with autism,” music activates certain neural systems recognize different emotions so no mat- Molnar-Szakacs says. “telling us that at a that aren’t active when these children ter what situation they find themselves biological level, emotional music has the look at faces. The studies may one day in, they are able to reliably recognize an same impact on children with ASD as it help scientists develop better inter- emotional face, and perhaps even the does on neurotypical children.” ventions. Meanwhile, Molnar-Szakacs’ tone of an emotional reaction or voice.”

Songs from the Stone Age Evidence of ancient roots No one knows for sure whether music played a key role in human evolution Though early hominids may have made or came about as a kind of ear candy. But there are several scientifically sweet sounds by banging sticks and stones inspired proposals for the origins of music, some included below. together, the oldest distinguishable instrument dates to 40,000 years ago. Da ya think I’m sexy? Charles Darwin, an avid music fan, suggested in 1871 that humans’ tunes A flute made from vulture bone (shown) and oth- evolved from courtship songs like those of birds, apes and other animals. ers made from mammoth ivory have been found in In 2000, psychologist Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany, and date from s Albuquerque elaborated on Darwin’s idea, arguing that music-making abili- 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. Holes in other bones dating to about 43,000 years ago were dismissed

ommon ties evolved along with intelligence and creativity as an advertisement of

c as bite marks from cave bears. ia reproductive fitness to potential mates. d

ime Gudi, literally “bone flutes,”found in Jiahu in Henan k I feel good Province, China, date to 9,000 years ago. Made er/Wi b Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker thinks of music as a gratifying from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes, the early instruments possess five to eight finger holes. diversion that offered no survival or mating advantages to human ancestors. In 1997, he dubbed music “auditory cheesecake,” a pleasurable amusement Pieces of several harps found in 1929 by Leonard that people concocted from evolved mental faculties such as language, emo- Woolley in what was ancient Mesopotamia date S; Wolfgang Sau I B tions and motor control. Aniruddh Patel of the Neurosciences Institute in San back to almost 5,000 years ago. The most famous OR Diego also views music as a human invention built on neural circuitry that was the bull-headed lyre (replica shown), which

rti/C had been preserved in a Baghdad museum until it O serves other purposes, but he sees it as having biologically powerful effects. was looted in 2003.

Let’s get together Two marble statues dating ianni Dagli

G from 4,700 to 4,500 years ; One popular idea posits that music and dance evolved to bind groups of peo- s ple together. Swedish neuroscientist Björn Merker suggests that musical abili- ago depict a double flute player mage

I (shown) and a harpist. ties and activities originated in groups of ancestral males chorusing together, Found on the island of etty G possibly to scare off males from rival groups and to attract migrating females. Keros, near Crete, the

iore/ Anthropologist Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford in England has sug- statues’ purpose is F gested that music and language became increasingly vital social lubricants as unclear. hominid groups increased in size over the ages. Six graded cylindrical 2009; Silvio wooden pipes discov- Mother and child reunion ture ered south of Dublin A N

/ With the emergence of the Homo genus roughly 2 million years ago, pairs of date to 4,000 years ago. l A t The pipes, the largest of E mothers and babies forged emotional ties by communicating musically, says , d , Ellen Dissanayake of the University of Washington in Seattle. Prehistoric which is 50 centimeters long, lack holes and groups exploited mom-infant interactions and added music and dance to . Conra appear as if they were N rituals, she proposes (see “Birth of the beat,” Page 18). What people now attached together as part think of as music emerged much later, in her view. — Bruce Bower of a larger instrument. rom left: F

28 | science news | August 14, 2010 www.sciencenews.org

Happy together stimulates brain areas specialized for language itself may have set the stage for Scientists say music’s ability to touch imitation and empathy that contain what the human brain to appreciate music. emotion lies in its ability to forge social researchers call mirror neurons. These Before spoken language emerged, early bonds and foster cooperative behavior. brain circuits, first described in monkeys, people might have used simple hand ges- Koelsch and Nikolaus Steinbeis of the act like mirrors in the mind, reflecting tures and vocal signals to communicate. University of Zurich showed in 2009 that others’ actions and intentions as if they Such signals were probably closely tied just listening to music creates a firestorm were one’s own. The neurons allow you to emotion, says Perlovsky. of activity in brain areas commonly used to feel loved ones’ pain or simulate their As the rational, language-based part to understand another person’s thoughts. actions, even if only in your mind. of the brain began to dominate, humans “It was as if they were trying to figure out But mirror neurons are active not were able to differentiate among ideas, the intentions and desires of the com- only when a monkey sees or performs an concepts and feelings. But the emer- poser,” Koelsch says. action, but also when it hears the sound gence of language, and the “thinking Studies show that listening to music associated with an action. Molnar- mind,” created a disconnect from the Szakacs says that this sound-related emotional mind, he contends. function may have developed for sur- Music, though, helps humans main- A cuneiform tablet dating to 4,000 years ago from vival reasons, enabling the understand- tain the ability to tap into these more Nippur, an ancient Sumerian city, includes instruc- ing of actions that couldn’t be seen, such ancient, emotive systems, and is an tions for performing music on string instruments as detecting footsteps in the dark. instinct rooted in the human evolution- and suggests people had a sophisticated idea of octaves more than 4,000 years ago. Because music has historically ary past, Perlovsky says. brought people together to sing, dance In contrast, Aniruddh Patel of the The tomb of Ramses III, who ruled Egypt more than and celebrate rituals, it can make peo- Neurosciences Institute in San Diego 3,000 years ago, contains a bas-relief including two ple feel like they are in a social interac- sees music as a human invention — not blind musicians playing before the gods. Discovered tion, he says. Until recently, whenever an evolutionary adaptation — built on in 1768 by James Bruce, the tomb was dubbed “The Tomb of the Harpists” and is sometimes people heard music, they would also see neural circuitry that ordinarily serves called “Bruce’s tomb.” feet tapping, hands drumming or instru- other functions. He compares humans’ ments being strummed, plucked or hit. desire to create and enjoy music to their Bronze carnyces found buried beneath a temple in “If you think about music in terms of ability to control fire. Corrèze, France, date to more than 2,000 years ago. human evolution, rather than in terms “Nobody argues that our brains have The carnyx was a Celtic battle horn (two replicas shown), sometimes with a boar’s head at its top. of the iPod, music has for the majority of been specifically shaped by evolution — Elizabeth Quill human history been made in the physical to make fire, yet it’s universal in human presence of others,” Molnar-Szakacs says. culture because it’s so valuable to us,” Last year, writing in Social Cognitive he says. & Affective Neuroscience, he and Katie Music serves a similar purpose, Patel Overy of the University of Edinburgh says, providing things people value added new details to their theory, first deeply, such as the ability to remember described in 2006, that ties together the information over time and a way to con- mirror neuron system and the limbic duct rituals with power and efficiency. system to explain why music has such a “Therefore it stuck,” he says. profound emotional impact in humans. Koelsch offers yet another reason why music appears across human culture: It I will survive provides a crucial social glue. Humans Probing music’s effects on emotion are social animals, and music automati- may also help answer a long-stand- cally engages systems for social cognition, ing puzzle: why music, a pleasur- communication and cooperation, he says. able but seemingly unnecessary Music “is particularly effective in part of life, is universal across cul- establishing a sense of unity, belonging- tures. Some experts believe that the ness and trust among individuals,” says ability to perceive and enjoy music is Koelsch. “I don’t say that music always an inborn human trait. Others see it as does this — apparently it doesn’t. But it human invention, born from the brain’s can be very powerful in doing so.” s ability to coordinate various functions. In the March Physics of Life Reviews, Explore more Harvard physicist Leonid Perlovsky ss Oliver Sacks. Musicophilia: Tales of suggests that the development of Music and the Brain. Vintage, 2008.

www.sciencenews.org August 14, 2010 | science news | 29 (((( a mind for music )))) Music of the Hemispheres

won’t make you smarter, a growing body of evidence suggests that playing his music will. Musical training doesn’t Music of the just make you a better musician — the acquired skills seem to transfer to other areas, various studies have found. And research focused on the brain’s particu- hemispheres lar relationship with music and language suggests that engaging the mind with Playing instruments gives brains a boost musical training could remedy language By Rachel Ehrenberg s Photograph by Cary Wolinsky impairments such as dyslexia. “There really is now so much evidence ot so long ago, Mozart mania music and smarts. In the original study, showing that musical experience has a swept the nation. A small the “Mozart effect” was minor and lasted pervasive effect on how the nervous sys- study found that students only minutes. Follow-up studies found tem gets molded and shaped throughout who listened to 10 minutes of the effect specific neither to the com- our lifetimes,” says Nina Kraus, head of Na Mozart sonata performed better on poser nor to music. Students listening to the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory a paper-folding task than their peers, Mozart were just more stimulated than at Northwestern University in Evanston, and suddenly a flourishing industry those listening to a relaxation tape or Ill. “This kind of transformation comes sprouted. Mozart’s music sang from CDs silence. And while arousal can improve about only with active engagement with and videos marketed for children, babies learning, research suggests, the effects sound. My daddy always said, ‘You never and moms-to-be. The craze reached can be fleeting and aren’t limited to get something for nothing.’ You’re not a crescendo when Georgia’s governor music. Assessments of the original report going to get big biceps by watching wres- Zell Miller included $105,000 in his now tend to be dirges: In the May-June tlers — you’ve got to do it.” state budget to send every child born in issue of Intelligence, researchers from the In the long run, musical training a Georgia hospital home with a classical University of Vienna published a paper appears to improve a suite of verbal and music tape or CD. titled “Mozart effect–Shmozart effect.” nonverbal skills. Playing an instrument “No one questions that listening to “It’s a short-lived effect and it spawned may add finesse to how people move their music at a very early age affects the spa- a huge industry of baby Einstein, baby bodies. Making music makes you hear tial, temporal reasoning that underlies Mozart CDs, all sorts of stuff,” says better, fine-tuning the ability to extract math and engineering and even chess,” Aniruddh Patel of the Neurosciences a signal from noise. Musical training also Miller said. Institute in San Diego. “But the science may improve grammar skills, the ability Actually, a lot of researchers ques- behind it is pretty thin.” to grasp meaning from words and to dis- tioned the link between listening to Yet even though listening to Mozart tinguish a question from a command.

Until recently, establishing cause and Music experiment Language experiment effect for music’s mental impact has been difficult. But long-term studies peering into brain structure and activity are now showing that musical training changes the brain in lasting ways.

The brain on beats Playing an instrument calls upon cir- Musically trained Not musically trained Musically trained Not musically trained cuitry from many areas of the brain, says Say what? When children with musical training hear a sequence that ends with a “hanging” Daniel Levitin, director of the music per- chord, their brains respond more strongly than do other children (shown at left, darker is more ception, cognition and expertise labora- intense). These kids also show stronger responses to violations in sentence syntax (shown at right). tory at McGill University in Montreal. For a long time, music was consid- The breadth of the musician’s task and mance demonstrated by musicians on ered a creative “right brain” endeavor. the required cognitive effort are probably some tasks is more about nurture than That idea has now gone the way of the behind much of the enhancement of other nature. Teasing out that balance has onservatory

C Macarena. Music processing is distrib- skills, says neuroscientist Laurel Trainor, been a recent focus of Gottfried Schlaug’s uted throughout the brain, says Levitin, director of the auditory development lab music and neuroimaging research at the hore hore S and playing an instrument, in particular, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center outh outh S is an ensemble activity. It involves pay- Canada. Playing an instrument “engages and Harvard Medical School. ing attention, thinking ahead, remem- basically most of your brain,” Trainor A study by Schlaug’s team found that bering, coordinating movement and says. The activity appears to boost exec- after 15 months of weekly keyboard les- hanks to the the to hanks T interpreting constant feedback to the utive function, being the boss of your sons, 6-year-olds showed greater change ears, fingers and, in some cases, lips. body and mind. Evidence suggests that in their brains than kids who attended a photo: photo: “It’s one of the most complicated tasks with musical training comes improved weekly music class without instrument that we have,” Levitin says. “Take a sym- memory, finer motor skills and better training. Among the most changed were phony orchestra. What you have is 80 or attention control — the ability to ignore a part of the auditory cortex and brain

NeuroImage 2009; 2009; NeuroImage 100 of the most highly trained members one thing and pay attention to something regions involved in control of move- of our society — more highly trained than else. “Our working hypothesis is that it’s ments. Kids with training also did better oelsch/ K

. . astronauts or surgeons in terms of the these control processes that are what is on tests related to finger movement and S numbers of hours and years of prepara- key for the transfer effects,” Trainor says. discerning melodies and rhythm, Schlaug tion — and they are performing the works Some musicians are certainly musi- and colleagues reported last year in the of some of the greatest minds that ever cally inclined to begin with. But recent Journal of Neuroscience. . Jentschke and and Jentschke .

S lived. It’s really extraordinary.” work suggests that the superior perfor- For most people, the transfer effects

Though the “Mozart effect” appears to be hype, studies do show that musical training can improve language and auditory skills.

31 32 guage are also important for music.lan While processing for instrumental brain the of areas that suggested others and Berlin Universität Freie the of Koelsch Stefan Patel, by studies imaging when language in one embrace began to mount Evidencethat the brain holds music and Peas in a syntactic pod impairments,” Trainorsays. language and dyslexia with people for that musical training does have benefits ties. “There is quite a bit of evidence now difficul- language with people for chord rich particularly a strike may training ple on the planet,” she says. But musical musicians to be the most intelligent peo expect we’d “Otherwise, Trainor. says ofmusical training are probably modest, ( ( (

( day accompany aprescription. stages,some studiesarestillintheearly yourfavorite soundtrackmay one investigating music as a means to alleviate pain and enhance recovery. andsoul.Nowscientistsaretakingaliterallookatsuchmusings,the heart F Take two stanzas and call me in the morning Anxiety: alone. treatment standard the undergoing patients than nausea and pain less had transplants marrow bone from ing recover while sessions relaxation-imagery and music in participated C Pain andnausea: information. practical,learn everyday may helpthesepatients findings suggestthatsong rather thanspoken. The lyrics whenthey aresung for have abettermemory individuals withAlzheimer’s Studies have shownthat Alzheimer’s disease: Another studyshowed surgery, onestudyfound. levels duringandafterthe lowering bloodpressure soothed patientanxiety, cataract removal surgery music beforeglaucomaor |

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dantoddy/istock images, photo illustration by E. Feliciano

stem … are actually more massive than Pitch-tracking in musicians Pitch-tracking in nonmusicians the ones going upstairs.” 140 140 This top-down tuning may influence a person’s ability to discriminate sounds of different frequencies, the processing of pitch. Pitch is the brain’s interpretation 90 90

of frequency, both in terms of absolute requency (Hz) requency (Hz) F F frequency and relative position on the musical scale. (Levitin notes that pitch 40 40 is the only musical attribute that varies 50 100 150 200 250 50 100 150 200 250 in the first seven notes of “Mary Had a Time (ms) Time (ms) Source: P.C.M. Wong Et Al/Nature Neuroscience 2007 Little Lamb.”) Pitch is crucial for convey- Follow that tone The Mandarin language conveys word meanings with tone. When a musician ing information: It determines whether with no knowledge of the language hears a Mandarin tone, activity in the brain stem (orange) tracks the phrase “You are going to wash the the frequency of the changing tone (black). The nonmusician’s brain is out of sync. dishes” is a question or a command. In languages such as Mandarin Chinese, This training-induced, top-down tun- very little extra neural resources to be saying the same syllable at a different ing appears to affect hearing in general. thinking about ‘What does this mean?’ ” pitch level gives the word an entirely dif- On a task known as backward masking, Kraus says. ferent meaning. in which subjects detect a sound masked If musicians’ responses are much Among people unfamiliar with Man- by a second sound, musicians with more less affected by background noise, she darin, musicians are better than non- than 10 years of musical training outper- says, musicians can devote more neu- musicians at discriminating between formed nonmusical peers, Kraus’ team ral resources to meaning rather than Mandarin syllables, Patrick Wong, Kraus reports in the March Hearing Research. just hearing. That suggests musical skill and others reported in Nature Neuro The musicians also performed better at could give children a learning benefit. science in 2007. Electrodes recording distinguishing cartoon characters based “If you have a nervous system in which brain activity revealed that a particular on the pitch of their sounds. the signal still comes through loud and pitch-related neural response, thought Listening skills such as the ability clear in a noisy classroom, now that kid to originate in the brain stem, was more to discriminate pitch or discern a sig- has an advantage,” Kraus says. robust in the musicians. nal from noise are related to some lan- For a clearer picture of the relationship Other work on the effects of musical guage impairments, including dyslexia, between musical training and learning, training suggests that it improves overall research suggests. People with dyslexia more studies are needed. But the accu- pitch processing. After six months, Por- often have a hard time reading — a diffi- mulating research is tantalizing, and tuguese third graders in a musical train- culty that is thought to result from trou- it suggests that upping the quality and ing group performed better on a reading ble transforming the letters on a page quantity of musical training in schools is task and on a pitch discrimination task into the sounds of language. This sound- warranted, Kraus and Northwestern col- than kids in a painting group, research- meaning connection happens before chil- league Bharath Chandrasekaran write in ers reported last year in Cerebral Cor dren learn to read, says Kraus, and may be the August Nature Reviews Neuroscience. tex. These results were also reflected in crucial for reading skills to develop. “Music has the power to transform brain wave activity, says study coauthor A team that included Kraus and Jane our nervous system in substantial, enor- Sylvain Moreno of the Rotman Research Hornickel, also from Northwestern, mous, unambiguous ways,” says Kraus. Institute and York University in Toronto. looked at how the auditory brain stem Many researchers now equate musical responded to the sounds of different training with learning to read. (Patel calls Hear this Musically trained adults can hear syllables for kids with a wide range of each of them a “transformative technol- words in background noise better than untrained reading abilities. Kids with the weakest ogy of the mind.”) Perfectly intelligent, peers (more negative index, better detection). reading skills had a harder time distin- capable people can do fine in life without Perceiving words within noise guishing the sounds ba, da and ga, the cracking a book or strumming a tune. But -3.5 team reported last year in Proceedings both can make the mind sing.  of the National Academy of Sciences. -3 Everyone has trouble hearing in a Explore more noisy restaurant. But children with dys- ss Nina Kraus’ laboratory: -2.5 lexia can have an even harder time per- www.soc.northwestern.edu/brainvolts/ ceiving sounds in noisy conditions. “If ss Daniel J. Levitin. This Is Your Brain on

Perception/noiseindex -2 Musicians Nonmusicians you’ve got a kid who is just struggling to Music: The Science of a Human Obses- Source: A. Parbery-clark et al/Ear & Hearing 2009 hear what the teacher is saying, he’s got sion. Dutton, 2006. www.sciencenews.org August 14, 2010 | science news | 33