How Does Music Affect Your Brain? | Tech Effects | WIRED

Summary

This video explores the profound impact music has on the brain, demonstrating its ability to influence emotions, cognition, and even motor functions. It delves into scientific studies showing how music activates various brain regions, from memory to emotion, and can enhance brain connectivity, especially in musicians. The video also highlights how music therapy has been used for rehabilitation, such as helping Gabrielle Giffords regain speech. Through captivating experiments and interviews with neuroscientists and musicians, the video reveals how music shapes our minds, offering insights into the creative process and its healing powers.

Takeaways

• 😀 Music has a profound impact on our brain, affecting multiple regions, from emotional responses to motor functions.
• 😀 Contrary to earlier beliefs, both sides of the brain are involved in processing music, not just the right hemisphere.
• 😀 Music activates various parts of the brain, including auditory, motor, visual, and memory areas, showing its broad effect on cognitive functions.
• 😀 Children who engage in music training show enhanced brain connections and better cognitive skills, including improved decision-making and social behavior.
• 😀 Music can trigger emotional responses such as chills or goosebumps, which are associated with stronger communication between auditory and emotional brain regions.
• 😀 Some individuals experience chills during music listening, a reaction linked to stronger fibers in the auditory-emotional brain tract.
• 😀 Music has the ability to trigger the brain's opioid system, creating feelings of pleasure, while disliked music may release stress-related cortisol.
• 😀 In cases of brain injury, music can help patients regain lost functions, as seen in the case of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who relearned to speak through music therapy.
• 😀 Music is not just a form of entertainment; it’s a universal language capable of communicating emotions across different cultures.
• 😀 Creativity in music, such as improvisation, leads to reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex, which may enhance spontaneous, innovative thinking.
• 😀 The study of how music affects the brain continues to reveal complex and mysterious ways music influences our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Q & A

How does music affect our brain?

Music activates every area of the brain, including those related to sensory, emotional, and motor functions. It has the ability to influence our mood, body, and brain activity, triggering responses like head nodding, dancing, and even crying. In fact, there is no known area of the brain that music does not touch in some way.

What did researchers discover about how the brain processes music?

Contrary to the old theory that music is processed only in the right hemisphere of the brain, research using advanced neuroimaging has shown that music activates both hemispheres, involving various regions such as the auditory cortex, motor cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus, depending on the aspect of music being processed.

What happens in the brain of musicians when they play music?

Musicians engage many brain systems while playing music, including motor systems, timing systems, memory systems, and hearing systems. This leads to robust brain activity, which is more complex compared to non-musicians due to the high level of coordination and multitasking required in musical performance.

What benefits have been found in children who study music?

Research on children who study music shows improvements in cognitive skills, decision-making, and social behavior. Over time, music training strengthens brain connections, particularly between the right and left hemispheres, and enhances creative problem-solving abilities.

What are 'chills' in response to music, and why do they occur?

The sensation of 'chills' or 'goosebumps' happens when music evokes a deep emotional response. This is often linked to the activation of the brain's emotional processing areas. The phenomenon is called 'frisson' and is not universally experienced; some people's brains may have stronger connections between auditory and emotional regions, making them more likely to experience chills.

How does the brain process different types of music?

Different music can trigger varying emotional responses in the brain. For example, a piece of music like 'Gimme Shelter' by The Rolling Stones can cause people to experience chills due to the emotional intensity and high-pitched notes. This reaction is rooted in survival mechanisms, where we instinctively respond to intense, potentially threatening sounds, but later reappraise them as pleasurable when we realize there's no danger.

What is the connection between music and the brain's opioid system?

When we enjoy music, it triggers the brain's internal opioid system, releasing chemicals similar to those found in painkillers. These chemicals enhance feelings of pleasure. On the other hand, music we dislike can trigger the release of cortisol, a stress hormone.

How can music therapy help individuals with brain injuries or disorders?

Music therapy has been shown to help individuals with brain injuries, such as former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, regain abilities like speech. By using music, therapists can access alternative pathways in the brain that are less affected by injury, helping patients bypass damaged areas to re-learn skills like speaking.

What happens in the brain when a musician improvises music?

When musicians improvise, areas related to motor skills and sensory processing are highly active, but the prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and self-monitoring, becomes less active. This reduction in prefrontal cortex activity allows for greater creativity and a freer flow of ideas, which is essential for improvisation.

Why is music considered a fundamental human activity?

Music is considered fundamental because it taps into our creativity and ability to generate new ideas. Unlike rote memorization, which limits adaptability, the process of creating music involves improvisation and spontaneous thought, which are key to human survival and evolution. Music is not just an art form but a deeply ingrained part of what it means to be human.