Sinapsis - Episodio 4: Música y Cerebro
Summary
TLDREl video ofrece una visión profunda en la interacción entre la música y la neurociencia. Se explora cómo la música, presente desde los orígenes de nuestra especie, involucra una red compleja de áreas cerebrales que procesan sonidos, ritmos y tonos. Destaca la importancia de la corteza auditiva y cómo la experiencia musical desencadena respuestas emocionales en el sistema límbico y sistemas de recompensa. Además, se aborda la memoria autobiográfica desencadenada por la música y su potencial terapéutico en enfermedades como el Alzheimer. Se menciona la neuroplasticidad y cómo la práctica musical puede influir en la estructura y funciones cerebrales, mejorando la comunicación entre áreas auditivas y motoras. Finalmente, se destaca la imaginación musical y su relevancia en la práctica artística, sugiriendo que la música no solo es un arte, sino también una ventana para entender la complejidad del cerebro humano.
Takeaways
- 🎼 La música ha sido una característica universal en las sociedades humanas desde los orígenes de nuestra especie.
- 🏺 Los instrumentos musicales más antiguos encontrados tienen aproximadamente 40,000 años, pero se cree que nuestros antepasados usaban otros materiales para la percusión.
- 🧠 Nuestros circuitos cerebrales están tan preparados para la música como para el lenguaje.
- 👶 Los neonatos ya responden a los tonos y cambios rítmicos de una canción, y los infantes se mueven espontáneamente y muestran mayor sociabilidad al escuchar música.
- 🌐 La neurocognición musical se refiere a la función cerebral subyacente a la musicalidad humana.
- 🎵 El procesamiento de la música no es exclusivo del hemisferio derecho del cerebro, sino que está distribuido a través de diferentes áreas cerebrales.
- 👂 El sonido es una consecuencia de cómo nuestro sistema nervioso transforma patrones de vibración del aire, lo que ocurre en la cóclea.
- 🎶 La organización tonotopica en la cóclea y la corteza auditiva primaria significa que la actividad neural depende de la frecuencia del sonido (o tono).
- 🎹 Las áreas temporales del cerebro son esenciales para identificar el timbre de diferentes instrumentos y asociarlos con sus nombres.
- ❤️ La música puede dilatarnos los pupilas, darnos escalofríos, hacernos sudar e incluso acelerar nuestra frecuencia cardíaca, lo que indica que la emoción musical está relacionada con nuestro sistema límbico y de recompensa.
- 🎶 Los estudios neuroimágenes han demostrado que la música genera una experiencia similar a las que provienen de otras fuentes de placer, como el sexo, el amor o las experiencias inducidas por drogas, gracias a la liberación de dopamina.
- 🧑🎤 Los músicos profesionales son capaces de identificar tonos musicales sin referencia, traducir símbolos musicales en movimientos complejos y aprender frases musicales largas de memoria.
- 🧠 La neuroplasticidad, la capacidad del sistema nervioso de reorganizarse después del aprendizaje, se refleja en cambios en la función o estructura del cerebro inducidos por la experiencia o el entrenamiento.
- 🎼 La música ha demostrado ser una herramienta terapéutica prometedora para pacientes con Alzheimer u otras demencias, no solo mejorando su estado de ánimo y disminuyendo su ansiedad, sino también abriendo caminos alternativos hacia memorias que parecían perdidas.
- 🎵 La música es la arte de seleccionar sonidos y colocarlos para que se relacionen entre sí, pero es sobre todo una experiencia personal y subjetiva.
Q & A
¿Por qué la música ha sido una característica universal en las sociedades humanas?
-La música ha estado presente desde los comienzos de nuestra especie, lo que indica que nuestras áreas cerebrales están tan preparadas para la música como para el lenguaje.
¿Cuánto tiempo tienen los instrumentos musicales más antiguos encontrados?
-Los instrumentos musicales más antiguos encontrados tienen aproximadamente 40,000 años de antigüedad.
¿Qué parte del cerebro está involucrada en la experiencia musical?
-La música no es procesada exclusivamente por el hemisferio derecho del cerebro. Su procesamiento es distribuido a través de diferentes áreas del cerebro, incluyendo tanto el hemisferio derecho como el izquierdo.
¿Cómo se transforma la vibración del aire en señales eléctricas en nuestro cuerpo?
-Este proceso se lleva a cabo en la cóclea, un órgano en forma de caracol ubicado en el oído interno, donde las células ciliadas realizan la transducción mecanoeléctrica de las vibraciones en señales eléctricas.
¿Cómo se organiza la información auditiva en nuestro sistema nervioso?
-La información auditiva se organiza por tono y frecuencia en nuestro sistema nervioso, incluso dentro de la cóclea, en una organización llamada 'tonotopic'.
¿Qué áreas del cerebro se activan cuando escuchamos música con letras?
-Al escuchar música con letras, se activan las áreas del cerebro asociadas con el lenguaje.
¿Cómo la música puede afectar nuestra respuesta física?
-La música puede dilatarnos los pupilas, darnos escalofríos, hacernos sudar e incluso acelerar nuestra frecuencia cardíaca.
¿Qué sistemas del cerebro están involucrados en la gratificación que sentimos al escuchar música?
-La gratificación de la música depende no solo del sistema límbico (o 'cerebro emocional'), sino también de nuestros sistemas de recompensa y motivación, incluyendo el núcleo accumbens.
¿Cómo la música puede ayudar en la evocación de memorias autobiográficas?
-La música tiene la capacidad de evocar memorias autobiográficas, lo que puede ser útil en terapias para pacientes con enfermedades que deterioran la memoria, como el Alzheimer.
¿Cómo la neuroplasticidad se manifiesta en los músicos?
-La neuroplasticidad en los músicos se refleja en cambios en la función o estructura del cerebro inducidos por la experiencia o el entrenamiento, como un grosor mayor del cuerpo calloso y cambios en la actividad de los córtices motores.
¿Cómo la música puede ser utilizada como herramienta terapéutica para pacientes con demencia?
-La música puede ser un herramienta terapéutica para pacientes con Alzheimer u otras formas de demencia, no solo para mejorar su estado de ánimo y disminuir su ansiedad, sino también para abrir caminos alternativos hacia memorias que parecían perdidas.
¿Qué es la imaginación musical y cómo se investiga su base neural?
-La imaginación musical es la capacidad de los músicos para crear y manipular imágenes musicales en su mente sin estímulos externos. Se ha observado que la percepción de sonido y la imaginación de sonido comparten áreas comunes de activación cerebral.
Outlines
🎵 La música y la neurociencia: Una relación universal
Este párrafo aborda la conexión intrínseca entre la música y la sociedad humana desde la antigüedad, destacando la antigüedad de los instrumentos musicales y la preparación del cerebro humano para procesar la música de la misma manera que el lenguaje. Se menciona la respuesta natural de los neonatos a la música y la importancia de la neurociencia musical en entender las áreas cerebrales involucradas en la experiencia musical. Además, se desmiente la idea de que el procesamiento de la música sea exclusivo del hemisferio derecho del cerebro, y se sugiere que la música involucra una red de áreas cerebrales distribuidas en ambos hemisferios.
🎶 La música y sus efectos en el cerebro: Del placer a la memoria
En este párrafo se explora cómo la música afecta el cerebro, desde la dilatación de los pupilas hasta el aumento de la frecuencia cardíaca, y se pregunta por qué la secuencia ordenada de tonos puede ser tan placentera. Se discute el papel del sistema límbico y de las vías de recompensa y motivación en la experiencia musical, así como la conexión entre la música y la memoria autobiográfica. Se mencionan estudios que sugieren el potencial terapéutico de la música en enfermedades como el Alzheimer, y se destaca la importancia del cerebro en la habilidad para evocar memorias asociadas a canciones de la juventud.
🎷 Cambios en el cerebro de los músicos: De la práctica a la habilidad
Este párrafo se centra en los cambios estructurales y funcionales que ocurren en el cerebro de los músicos debido a la práctica musical. Se describe la neuroplasticidad y cómo la experiencia musical puede alterar la estructura y el funcionamiento del cerebro, particularmente en la corteza auditiva y el sistema motor. Se mencionan diferencias específicas en la simetría de las cortezas motoras y la conectividad entre hemisferios en los músicos, y se sugiere que la actividad de los músicos durante la escucha y la imaginación de música desafía la integración entre el sistema auditivo y el motor del cerebro.
🎼 Música y evolución: Un viaje en el tiempo del cerebro humano
El último párrafo reflexiona sobre la naturaleza personal y subjetiva de la música y cómo esta interacciona con nuestro sistema nervioso para producir experiencias únicas. Se destaca el papel de la música como herramienta de investigación en la neurociencia y cómo el estudio de la música nos enseña sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro y la evolución de la mente humana. Finalmente, se invita al espectador a continuar explorando la relación entre arte y cerebro a través de la serie SINAPSIS.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Neurociencia Musical
💡Cochlea
💡Tonotopic Organization
💡Cortex Auditivo
💡Timbre
💡Prefrontal Cortex
💡Cerebelo
💡Sistema Auditivo
💡Nucleus Accumbens
💡Memoria Autobiográfico
💡Neuroplasticidad
Highlights
Music has been a universal feature of human societies since the beginnings of our species.
Our brain circuits are as prepared for music as they are for language, indicating an inherent musicality.
Music is processed not just by our right hemisphere; it involves a network of brain areas across both hemispheres.
The cochlea, a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear, plays a key role in transforming air vibrations into neural signals.
Neurons in different regions of the cochlea are activated by different frequencies, showcasing a 'tonotopic' organization.
The auditory cortex processes sound frequency, volume, and rhythm, integrating these elements to create a musical experience.
Music activates the pre-frontal cortex, important for analyzing tonal sequences, and the cerebellum for processing rhythm.
Neuroimaging studies have shown that the pleasure of music involves the limbic system, reward, and motivation systems.
Autobiographical memories evoked by music are detailed, involuntary, and emotionally intense, with potential therapeutic uses for Alzheimer's patients.
Professional musicians show increased neuroplasticity, reflected in changes in their brain structure and function due to musical training.
Musicians' brains have more symmetrical motor cortices and enhanced connections between auditory and motor systems.
Musical training can serve as a research framework for studying neuroplasticity, offering insights into the brain's capacity for adaptation.
Musical imagery involves the same brain areas responsible for sound perception, highlighting a shared neural basis.
The project SINAPSIS connects art and neuroscience, exploring the complex relationship between music and the brain.
Music, an art of sound organization, provides unique personal experiences and teaches us about brain function and human evolution.
Transcripts
Since human beings are defined as such,
music has been a universal feature of their societies
The oldest musical instruments found
are approximately 40,000 years old
but it is believed that our ancestors previously used
other types of materials as percussions.
It is therefore not surprising that our brain circuits are
as prepared for music as they are for language.
Everything seems to indicate that music has been with us
since the beginnings of our species.
For example, newborns already respond
to the tones and rhythmic changes of a song
and, when listening to music, infants move spontaneously
and show more sociability in their behavior.
Which brain processes are related to the pleasure we get from the music we love?
Why do we have a propensity for rhythm?
How does our auditory system deal with different aspects of music?
Musical Neurocognition
refers to brain function
underlying human musicality.
Both artand the brain work on the basis of connections
A synapse is the connection space between two neurons
and a work of art emerges in that connection space
between a creator and a spectator.
This is SINAPSIS: Connections between art and your brain
I am Fernanda Pérez-Gay, PhD in neuroscience
and in this episode we will talk about the wide world
of the Neuroscience of Music.
What areas of our brain are involved in the musical experience?
Despite what you may have heard,
music is not processed exclusively by our right hemisphere.
Its processing is rather distributed
through different areas of the brain.
Listening, playing or composing music
involve a network of brain areas
distributed between the two hemispheres.
Let's start the journey to the musical brain!
What we call "sound" is actually a consequence
of the way our nervous system transforms patterns or air vibration.
This transformation takes place in the cochlea
a wonderful little snail-shaped organ
found in our inner ear.
This organ, made out of bone, contains liquid
and specialized neurons called "hair cells"
These hairy neurons are responsible for "mechanoelectrical transduction":
that is, the process that transforms air vibration
into neural electrical signals
which are then transmitted through the cochlear nerve
to the brain, where they will be processed
in the primary auditory cortex, found in the temporal lobe.
It may seem surprising, but sounds we hear
are already organized by tone and frequency in our nervous system
even within the cochlea!
This means that different groups of neurons are activated
for each frequency on the hearing spectrum.
As you may know, bass (or low-pitched) sounds
correspond to low frequency waves
that cause slow vibration of the inner ear structures
and activate neurons in the apical region of the snail.
Conversely, the high-frequency waves of high-pitched tones
vibrate faster and activate neurons at the base of the cochlea.
This is called "tonotopic" organization,
-neural activity depends on the frequency of the sound wave (or pitch)-
also present in the primary auditory cortex.
If we used an electrode to record the activity of each neuron
in this area while we play a sound of - say 440 Hz -
there will be a group of neurons activated
more strongly at this frequency.
The same phenomenon happens at each sound frequency
of the human hearing spectrum (20 - 20,000 Hz).
Note that the auditory cortex not only responds according to sound frequency
but also to volume and rhythm.
Once the auditory cortex is activated,
different aspects of music are processed by different parts of the brain
that will then integrate information through their connections
to elicit the musical experience that moves us.
Other areas of the temporal lobe, for example,
are essential for identifying the timbre of different instruments,
and associate them with their names:
piano, trumpet, violin, accordion.
This ability to identify them depends on previous experience,
the more we know about music, the more instruments we can recognize.
Music also activates neurons in the pre-frontal cortex,
important for analyzing the relationship between tonal sequences;
The cerebellum, in turn, plays a role in processing rhythm and musical temporality;
And the brainstem has groups of neurons
which task is localizing the source of sound.
If we listen to a song with lyrics,
the language areas of the brain will also be activated;
and if we dance to the rhythm of music
the brain's motor system will also join the party.
But knowing the brain networks that participate in the musical experience
is not sufficient to answer the question
which has intrigued so many philosophers, psychologists and scientists:
why is it that listening to an orderly sequence of tones can give us so much pleasure?
Music is able to dilate our pupils,
to give us chills, to make us sweat
and even to accelerate our heart rate.
In recent years, neuroimaging studies
have shown that the pleasure of music depends
not only on our limbic system (or "emotional brain")
but also on our reward and motivation systems,
deep brain circuits which include
the so-called "pleasure center", or nucleus accumbens.
These circuits work mainly with dopamine
and thanks to them music generates an experience similar
to those that come from other sources of pleasure such as sex, love
or even drug-induced experiences.
Surprised? This is just a taste of
the wonders of musical neuroscience.
We haven't talked yet about what's going on in musician's brains.
so that they can amaze us with their work.
Stay with us on this episode of SINAPSIS
to continue exploring the relationship between music and the brain!
"NEURO-WONDERS"
What kind of music did you listen to in your teenage years?
If you suddenly heard one of these songs again
by chance on the radio, where would it take you?
Autobiographical memory is the ability
to evoke personal memories associated
to past events in our own life,
and it is particularly related to music.
Hearing a melody from our past
can suddenly, without having looked for it,
provoke images, smells and emotions associated with a distant memory.
These are called "autobiographical memories evoked by music".
In recent years, researchers have investigated this phenomenon
to discover their neural bases
and explore their therapeutic potential
in diseases that deteriorate memory.
One study, for example, compared memories evoked by music
to those evoked by photographs of known faces.
The results showed that the memories that arose from music
were perceived as involuntary,
were more detailed, contained more personal information
and aroused more intense emotions.
Could music then help patients with Alzheimer's disease,
which causes a decline of autobiographical memory?
Various studies have shown that these patients
evoke a greater amount of memories
when they listen to music,
that these memories are more specific
and that they are accompanied by more positive emotions.
Brain imaging studies have pinpointed a brain area
that makes possible the integration of music, emotions and memory:
the medial prefrontal cortex.
This area is often less severely affected
that the classic areas of memory access in Alzheimer's patients.
This is why music has become a promising therapeutic tool
for patients with Alzheimer or other types of dementia
not only to improve their mood and decrease their anxiety,
but also to clear alternative paths
towards memories that seemed lost.
Are musicians born or is music an acquired skill?
For most of human history,
music was a ritual activity
in which everyone participated.
However, in the past 500 years
Western culture has emphasized technique and skills,
separating those who know how to compose and play music
from ordinary people -like me- who enjoy and even pay to hear them play.
Professional musicians are able to:
identify musical tones without a reference
translate a series of musical symbols
in complex finger and hand movements
improvise melodies or learn long musical phrases by heart.
Although we do not yet know perfectly
all the brain mechanisms behind these operations,
a series of neuroscientific studies
found differences between professional musician's brain
and those of subjects who have never learned to sing or play an instrument.
The capacity of the nervous system to reorganize after learning
is called neuroplasticity,
and it is reflected in changes in function or structure of the brain
induced by experience or training.
Until recently,
this phenomenon was only studied
on cell cultures or laboratory animals.
In humans, it was first documented on pianists:
showing that the more hours devoted to musical practice
and the earlier they had started playing,
the thicker their corpus callosum
which is the group of nerve fibers or axons
that connects one hemisphere to the other.
Showing that musicians have more connections between the two hemispheres.
This difference among pianists,
was more important in the frontal part of the brain,
where movement is coordinated,
and suggests that the changes are a result of constantly
practicing complex finger and hand movements,
which require communication from the two cerebral hemispheres.
Studies have also shown that the left and right
motor cortices of musicians are more symmetric
compared to non-musicians
whose cortex corresponding to the dominant hand is generally larger.
And there is more: other studies
have shown that learning to play an instrument
causes changes in the activity of the auditory cortex
by tuning the neurons that respond to different tones,
making phenomena like perfect pitch possible.
Apart from changes in auditory circuits
(organized around the temporal cortex)
and motor circuits of the brain
(organized mainly in the frontal lobe)
music neuroscientists have discovered
that musicians have better communication
between the auditory system and the movement system of the brain
This connection manifests itself when we measure
the brain activity of musicians under different circumstances.
For example, when listening to a musical piece,
while non-musicians only activate the auditory cortex
the musicians' brains will also activate motor areas,
as if they were practicing the movements
necessary to produce the sounds they hear.
Likewise, during an exercise where
subjects were asked to play a silent piano
non-musicians only activated the motor cortices
which made them move their fingers,
while musicians also activated their auditory cortex,
as if they could hear the sounds coming from the silent piano.
It is this integration between hearing and movement
which allows musicians to overcome the greatest challenge of their practice:
the prompt integration of hand and foot movements
with the sounds they produce.
Ever since these canonical studies,
musical training is used
as a framework for research on neuroplasticity,
giving us another example
of how artistic practice can inform neuroscience.
Have you ever listened to music in your head?
How is it that our brain produces sounds without external stimuli?
Take the example of Beethoven,
who, even after becoming deaf,
continued to make musical compositions,
listening to music in his head just by looking at a music sheet.
The capacity for musical imagination is highly developed in musicians.
This is the research subject of Gabriela Pérez-Acosta
who studies the neural basis of musical imagination,
discerning the mechanisms with which musicians
practice musical exercises in their head.
"HUNTING FOR ANSWERS"
The origins of musical imagery research
dates back to the 80s.
Thanks to different experimental designs,
we have obtained evidence that musical images
1) are generated in real time;
2) contain aspects of the acoustic stimulus
such as temporality, height, timbre;
3) that we are able to modify or manipulate
these elements in our mental images
and 4) a very important thing that has been observed
is that sound perception
and sound imagination
share common areas of brain activation.
In general we refer to
the primary auditory cortex,
secondary auditory cortex and association cortices,
certain prefrontal areas
and the supplementary motor area.
In my research team, we
record brain activity using EEG
during musical imagination tasks
to observe brain activation patterns related to these tasks.
An imagination task, for example, is to ask participants
(after having trained them to memorize a certain melody)
to recreate it in their head, to imagine it,
while brain electrical activity is recorded.
What particularly interests me
is whether the ear participates in any way in this process.
This is why we also record cochlear activity.
In a first study we have already observed
certain types of changes in the cochlear response
during imagination tasks,
so we think that by going further into this research
we can obtain interesting results in this sense
which may be applicable to musical practice.
Through the experience of high performance musicians,
we know that the mental creation of different types of musical
images and representations
are essential in musical practice.
That's why learning more about this phenomenon,
can help us to develop more effective music study methodologies.
Music can be defined as the art of selecting sounds
and placing them to relate with each other,
but it is above all a personal and subjective experience.
These "organized sounds" produce a unique experience in us
thanks to our nervous system,
which orders them, analyzes them and integrates them with previous experiences,
allowing us to feel, enjoy and give meaning to music
This video explores some highlights
of the vast dialogue between music and neuroscience.
While brain imaging studies have shown us
some of the circuits that process or produce music,
music itself has taught us important lessons about how the brain works.
Let's not forget that our brain - just like the rest of our body -
is the product of millions of years of evolution.
When we explore a human activity as old and universal as music,
we necessarily learn about the evolution of the human mind.
The brain - wrote Emily Dickinson -
is deeper than the sea.
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorbe - with ease —and you beside—.
We invite you to continue diving
with us in the deep waters of the brain!
Don't forget to like this video,
share it with your friends and follow us in our social networks!
Also, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel
so you don't miss the next episode of SINAPSIS:
Connections between art ...
and your brain.
CREDITS Original idea, research, script and animation: Dr. Fernanda Pérez-Gay Juárez
Production: Ivan Méndez Rivera // Production assistants: Luis Ángel Pérez Córdova, Miguel Ángel Cañedo Zavaleta.
Editing, post-production and illustration: Rodrigo Pérez-Grovas Álvarez.
Specialist: Gabriela Pérez-Acosta
Percussion musicians: Ensamble Darbukatepetl (Rodrigo de Leo, Vanessa Esparza, Laura Sanjuan, Luis Fajardo)
Musicians appearing in minute 4: The Dragulas, videos provided by The Dragulas & GüeyOkey
Acknowledgments: Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Music, Nacional Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM); Gerónimo Juárez; Ensamble Darbukatepetl
Music: -Original compositions by Manuel Velázquez -Album Into Madness -Scott Holmes, André Codeman, Dee Yan-Jey
English translation: Fernanda Pérez-Gay Juárez and Delia Juárez ** Funded by the Quebec Research Funds.
Original Project Funding: FONCA (Mexico Council for the Arts) -ACT Program - Arte, Ciencia y Tecnologías (Art, Science and Technology), Culture Secretariat
SINAPSIS: Conexiones entre el Arte y tu Cerebro. Mexico City, Mexico, 2019
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Music and its wider relevance | UCL Institute of Education
Sinapsis - Episodio 1: Creatividad y cerebro
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