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How and Why Does Music Move Us?: Answers from Psychology and
Neuroscience
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Investigating use-dependant structural and functional adaptations in brain networks: The effects of intensive musical training. View project
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W
hat scientific information can Principal Bryant: “Ladies and gentleman,
music educators share with par- the moving performances you just heard may
ents of their students, administra- naturally raise some fundamental questions
tors, school board members, and community about how music is processed in the brain.
leaders about the powerful role of music in To provide some answers, I’ve invited Dr.
our lives? Imagine, if you will, the closing Valerie Reynolds, a neuroscientist, and Dr.
concert in a weeklong celebration of music Steven Reynolds, a cognitive psychologist, to
at a typical high school. The band and jazz share with us some recent scientific evidence
ensemble have already performed, and the that may help explain our strong responses
choir and orchestra will perform shortly. to music. They will also show some images
Between these presentations, however, the of recent brain research. Dr. Valerie is an
audience hears a brief talk given by a psy- accomplished violinist, and Dr. Steven is an
chologist and a neuroscientist. Let’s listen in avid singer and guitarist. They are also the
as the principal introduces them. proud parents of Jenny Reynolds, a cellist
Donald A. Hodges is a professor of music education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; he can be contacted
Copyright © 2015 National Association
at dahodges@uncg.edu. Robin W. Wilkins is a network neuroimaging scientist at the Joint School for Nanoscience and
for Music Education
Nanoengineering Gateway MRI Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; she can be contacted at robinwwilkins@ DOI: 10.1177/0027432115575755
gmail.com. http://mej.sagepub.com
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in our school orchestra. Please welcome Network Science2 allows us to do both
Drs. Valerie and Steven.” those things; now we can investigate FIGURE 1
Steven: “Thank you, Mr. Bryant. As dynamic interconnectivity in the brain
The Default Mode Network.
you think about these young people as listeners hear complete songs.
performing so beautifully, and other “By measuring brain activity throughout This is a view of the brain
meaningful musical experiences you the whole brain, including interconnec- looking down from the top.
may have had in your life, you may be tions among the front-back, top-bottom, The colored areas are regions
wondering, ‘How and why does music and left-right sections of the brain, we can that cooperate with each other
move me so much? Why do human construct a connectivity map that repre- during times of introspection.
beings all over the world and through- sents how the brain communicates within Colors indicate the degree to
out time find such deep pleasure and itself from moment to moment. A voxel is which the area serves as an
meaning in music?’ Valerie and I will a tiny, three-dimensional piece of brain important conduit of neural
do our best to give you some current tissue comparable to a pixel on a tel- information, with red areas
information emerging from the cognitive evision or computer screen. It contains being more critical than yellow.
neuroscience of music. In the interest of about 5.5 million neurons and 50 billion
time, we’re going to do this in five brief synapses, which are the connections
segments. We’ll talk about a new brain- between neurons. Using a network sci-
imaging analysis method called Network ence approach, researchers constructed
Science, brain areas called the Default a brain connectivity map consisting of
Mode Network, an exciting brain-imag- approximately 21,000 voxels monitored
ing experiment involving the effects during five minutes of music listen-
of music preference on the brain, and ing.3 They determined the strength of
music learning’s effect on brain struc- these connections, measured between
ture and function. Finally, we’ll weave each voxel across time, and eliminated
these four strands together into a more the weaker connections. Retaining the
complete picture of why music so pow- strongest connections between voxels
erfully moves us as it affects quality of throughout the entire brain provided
life. Here is Dr. Valerie.” a connectivity map of the brain during
real-time music listening.”
Network Science
The Default Mode Network Image by Robert Kraft
Valerie: “To begin, brain-imaging exper-
iments in general, and those concerned Valerie: “Relevant to the effects of music,
with music in particular, have improved I want to describe the Default Mode
tremendously in the past few decades. Network—DMN for short. As shown in of consciousness or awareness, and in
Researchers have discovered which parts Figure 1, the DMN is a set of intercon- the case of self-awareness, the DMN is
of the brain are active during a variety nected regions in the brain that becomes involved in the reprocessing of autobio-
of musical tasks, such as listening to or less active when you are paying out- graphical memories and self-relevant
performing brief excerpts. They have ward attention to something but is more emotions. This experience is something
learned that everyone has the possibility engaged when you are focusing inward, I like to think of as ‘mulling over.’ It
of meaningful musical experiences and such as during introspection or mind- is also active while one ruminates on
that those who study music seriously wandering.4 Neuroscientists often call hopes and dreams. The DMN is thought
show significant changes in both brain it ‘the resting state.’ We think that peo- to help us imagine or understand the
structure and function,1 which we’ll dis- ple move in and out of the resting state feeling states of others. 7 Support for
cuss later. However, there is a signifi- throughout the day. For example, maybe these ideas comes from the fact that
cant limitation to traditional approaches: one minute your mind is adrift and the DMN is impaired in individuals with
The brain does not function by tiny you’re reflecting on your life and feeling Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, and
areas acting in isolation, but rather as overwhelmingly grateful or perhaps the other cognitive conditions that involve a
an integrated, interconnected system. opposite, a sense of profound loss. While loss of self-awareness.”8
Because people’s responses unfold your mind is wandering, you may sud-
while they are experiencing music, neu- denly in the next minute have to redirect A Network Science
roscientists needed a way to investigate your attention to an external task. Music Experiment
the whole brain while a listener enjoys “The DMN emerges in infancy 5
an extended musical selection. Fortu- and continues to develop through- Steven: “In a study involving music
nately, a very recent development called out the life span. 6 It supports levels and the DMN, researchers had young
FIGURE 2
The Default Mode Network during Music Listening. Colored portions link together in a distributed
communications network. Note that frontal regions of the brain (red arrows) are part of the network when
listeners like the music and are missing when they do not like the music. Red color indicates consistent
involvement of these regions among music listeners; purple indicates less consistency.
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smaller bits of previously disconnected left side of the image as in a previous the auditory cortex, the corpus callosum,
pieces of information, such as puzzle slide; this is her corpus callosum. The the cerebellum (responsible for integrat-
pieces, to create a new idea or con- blue strands arising out of her head show ing sensory input into motor output), the
cept. Furthermore, some researchers neural pathways running from the core gray matter (the outer wrapping of the
consider this network related to identity of her brain to the top. Researchers have brain involved in sensory, motor, cog-
formation, social learning, and personal demonstrated differences in neural path- nitive, and emotional processing), the
decision-making. While more research is ways between highly trained musicians white matter (the inner core involved
needed, the close association between and those without training. Furthermore, in transmitting messages throughout
the DMN and music may explain why there is a strong relationship between the the brain), sensorimotor cortex (where
people identify themselves, even as amount of time practiced during child- incoming sensory information and out-
young children, so strongly with certain hood and adolescence and structures in going motor actions are processed), and
genres or favorite pieces of music.” the brains of adult musicians.11 From a multimodal integration areas (where
neuroscientific perspective, then, musi- information from the senses is inte-
Music and Brain Function cal training can cause significant and grated into a coherent whole).16 These
lasting changes in the brain. However, changes generally lead to more efficient
Valerie: “A number of years ago, the those changes do not necessarily trans- functioning, that is, faster and more
notion that music makes us smarter late into better performances in other accurate performances on musical tasks.
garnered a great deal of press. Recent domains, as Steven will explain.” Because some musical tasks may share
findings provide a more nuanced per- Steven: “From my perspective, the components with other domains such as
spective. Certainly, we see that music answer to the question, ‘Does music language, it is possible that becoming
learning modifies brain structures and make you smarter?’ is ‘no, maybe, and musically proficient may confer benefits
functions. Adult musicians, especially yes . . . depending.’ [Laughter.] What I to performance in other domains. For
those who started studying seriously mean by ‘no,’ is that we do not auto- example, at-risk children who received
before the age of seven, show changes matically become smarter simply by lis- two years of musical training improved
in numerous brain regions and improved tening to music. It is true that students significantly in neural processing of
functioning for music processing. What such as these [motions toward band, speech sounds when compared with
you see up on the stage tonight are young orchestra, choir, and jazz ensemble] on those who did not receive the training
people who are engaging in intensive average have higher grades than those or who only had it for one year.”17
mental and neurological feats to sing or who do not participate in music.12 How-
play their instruments. Performing music ever, research is still ongoing to under- Intense Musical Experiences
is a whole-brain activity, with neural stand what is transpiring in the brain that
might influence academic performance.
and Quality of Life
pathways connecting multiple regions
throughout the brain. As you look at the It is probable that these findings about Steven: “To move away from how music
next four images (Figure 3), you will see music and academic skills are in large might influence other domains and
colorized pathways in the brain of a pro- part a result of children coming from return to core musical experiences, we
fessional clarinetist. In Figure 3a, we see homes where the parents support educa- want to finish with an examination of
her brain as if looking at it from the back tion, provide their children with oppor- what these powerful, emotional experi-
of her head. The purple strands show tunities such as attending concerts, and ences have to do with quality of life. In
neural pathways connecting the top and teach them good time management skills, doing so, we will be weaving psycho-
bottom of the brain; the green strands responsibility, perseverance, and so on.13 logical and neuroscientific experiences
are neural pathways running primarily “The ‘maybe’ answer comes from into a coherent viewpoint.
side to side. Next (Figure 3b), we see work on what is called near and far “In the 1960s, psychologist Abraham
an image of her brain taken from the left transfer.14 That is, those with musical Maslow wrote about peak experiences.
side. The red band in the center is her training tend to do better on near trans- These are intense, transcendent, intrinsic
corpus callosum, the major neural path- fer tasks that are similar to music, such experiences that are critical in achiev-
way connecting the left and right sides as auditory discrimination in language.15 ing self-actualization or in progressing
of her brain. Based on data from several They are less likely to perform as well toward becoming who we are meant
studies, it is likely that she has millions on far transfer tasks that distantly relate to be—our best, most complete selves.
more fibers in her corpus callosum than to music. The ‘yes’ answer is that, as Maslow found that music is one of the
those who have not studied music.10 In Valerie demonstrated in the previous most common ways for people to have
Figure 3c, we see her brain from the top. slides, there are distinct brain changes peak experiences. 18 Nearly fifty years
Neural pathways connecting the front in adult musicians compared to those later, Swedish psychologist Alf Gabriels-
and back parts of her brain are shown without formal training, and this leads son surveyed more than 1,300 people,
clearly. Finally, in the last image (Figure to improved performance on musical asking them to describe ‘the strongest,
3d), we see the same red band on the tasks. Some of these changes occur in most intense experience with music’ they
could recall.19 Responses ranged from the meaning of life, social relationships, potential for enhancing the human expe-
physical responses such as weeping or and personal development. 20 Intense rience. Croom concluded that ‘musical
hair standing up on the back of the neck, musical experiences can ‘help us to real- engagement can positively contribute to
to the elicitation of important memories ize our true inner selves in order to live one’s living a flourishing life.’23 In sum,
that were highly emotional and person- a more authentic, fulfilled, and spiritual evidence confirms the notion that music
ally important. These descriptions bore life.’21 Finally, psychologist Adam Croom22 is a common way for people to have very
a very strong resemblance to Maslow’s discussed the role of music in five com- powerful, emotional experiences that are
concept of peak experiences. monly recognized factors that are charac- transcendent, help shape each person in
“More recently, another group of teristic of human flourishing or well-being: unique ways, are long lasting, and that
researchers conducted in-depth interviews (1) positive emotion, (2) relationships, lead to an enhancement of quality of life.”
concerning intense musical experiences. (3) engagement, (4) achievement, and Valerie: “The field of neuroscience is
They concluded that intense musical (5) meaning. For each of these five factors, developing so rapidly that we are now
experiences can lead to enduring changes he identified relevant research, including capable of examining the brain to study
in one’s personal values, perceptions of neuroimaging studies, that shows music’s aspects of mental experiences in ways
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we never dreamed were possible. For serotonin36 are released during musical in art experiences, she answered imme-
example, philosophers have thought experiences, leading to intensely pleasur- diately and succinctly, ‘We can become
about the nature of musical experi- able feelings. By ‘cultural matrix,’ Kneiter more fully human.’38 Transposing this
ences for several thousand years, but meant that music does not occur in a vac- to music, perhaps we can say that one
recently neuroscientists are joining the uum; rather, it occurs within broader soci- of the most significant values of music
discussion.24 I want to talk briefly about ocultural contexts. A number of studies is that it can provide us with insights
something called neuroaesthetics—the have demonstrated that culturally familiar into the human condition. No matter
investigation of brain systems involved and unfamiliar music elicit activations in the differences of age, gender, ethnic-
in aesthetic experiences.25 Because defi- different brain regions.37 Neuroaesthetics ity, socioeconomic status, or any other
nitions of an ‘aesthetic response’ can vary is a relatively new field, and we should real or perceived variable, at heart we
and because music is represented in dif- expect to see much progress in coming are united by the fact of being human.
fuse patterns spread throughout various years that will help us better understand Music has the capacity to tap into this
regions of the brain, there is no specific how we process aesthetic experiences central aspect of our humanity to reveal,
‘music aesthetics network.’ However, with music in the brain.” explore, and share what it is that makes
in addition to the DMN, neuroscientists Steven: “To recap briefly: From our us both corporately the same and yet
have identified other brain mechanisms discussion so far, we can draw five individually unique. Furthermore, musi-
involved in significant musical experi- important conclusions: cal experiences appear to connect brain
ences that are associated with reward, structures that play essential roles in our
memory, self-reflection, emotion, and •• First, using the new techniques of development and well-being, especially
sensorimotor processes.26 After conduct- network science, we can examine when we are being thrilled to the core,
ing a meta-analysis of ninety-three neu- the brain’s interconnectivity as it pro- lifted to new heights, or experiencing
roimaging studies involving visual art as cesses extended musical experiences. transcendence over everyday concerns
well as music, neuroscientists concluded •• Second, the Default Mode Network is as we sing, play, create, dance, or listen
that aesthetic processing primarily involves a set of brain networks that deal with to music. In conclusion, all of this evi-
positive/negative judgments, such as like/ conscious awareness, self-reflection, dence points to a scientific explanation
dislike or pleasant/unpleasant, and that and autobiographical memories and for how and why music moves us.”
this is an adaptation of our appraisal of emotions.
things that provide survival value, such •• Third, in the particular experiment
as food or potential mates.27 described previously, we saw that Notes
“One way to organize neuroaesthet- when people listened to their preferred 1. Isabelle Peretz and Robert J. Zatorre,
ics findings as they apply to music is to music, there was dynamic intercon- “Brain Organization for Music
consider brain-imaging experiments that nectivity in the Default Mode Net- Processing,” Annual Reviews of
Psychology 56 (2005): 89–114.
support each of music educator Gerard work, linking music to self-awareness, 2. Ed Bullmore and Olaf Sporns, “Complex
Kneiter’s five characteristics of an aesthetic along with associated personal histo- Brain Networks: Graph Theoretical
experience—focus, perception, cognition, ries, core emotional memories, and Analysis of Structural and Functional
affect, and cultural matrix.28 Focus, or empathy. Systems,” Nature Reviews Neuroscience
10, no. 3 (2009): 186–98.
paying attention to the music, unfolds in •• Fourth, musical training leads to 3. Robin W. Wilkins, Donald A. Hodges, Paul
a timeline of neural responses that begins numerous changes in the brain. J. Laurienti, Matthew Steen, and Jonathan
with auditory brainstem responses that While these modifications definitely H. Burdette, “Network Science: A New
occur within a few milliseconds. Positive/ influence musical processing, they Method for Investigating the Complexity
of Musical Experiences in the Brain,”
negative judgments29 and identification of may or may not lead to improved Leonardo 45, no. 3 (2012): 282–83.
musical genre30 can occur in less than an performance in other domains such 4. Marcus Raichle and Abraham Snyder,
eighth of a second. Researchers found as language arts or mathematics. “A Default Mode of Brain Function:
evidence of focused attention over time •• Fifth, a considerable amount of psy- A Brief History of an Evolving Idea,”
NeuroImage 37 (2007): 1083–90.
when performances of Bach by profes- chological and neuroscientific evi-
5. Christopher D. Smyser, Abraham Z.
sional pianists caused a sharp decrease of dence supports the powerful role Snyder, and Jeffrey J. Neil, “Functional
blood flow in specific areas of the brain.31 that music can play in enhancing the Connectivity MRI in Infants: Exploration
Music perception32 and cognition33 engage quality of life. of the Functional Organization of the
Developing Brain,” NeuroImage 56
many brain regions, with specific aspects
(2011): 1437–52.
such as pitch and rhythm processed in “What this means to us can be 6. Kaustubh Supekar, Lucina Q. Uddin,
distinct areas. summed up nicely in a brief quote from Katherine Prater, Hitha Amin, Michael
“Musical emotions are also broadly rep- Sister Wendy Beckett. Sister Wendy is D. Greicius, and Vinod Menon,
resented in the brain, with many different known for her video series on the his- “Development of Functional and
Structural Connectivity within the Default
structures involved.34 So-called feel-good tory of art. When a BBC interviewer Mode Network in Young Children,”
neurochemicals such as dopamine35 and asked her what we gain from engaging NeuroImage 52 (2010): 290–301.
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