It’s another run-of-the-mill, ordinary, plain-Jane day. My mom is ever so kindly sending me to class, and the radio mindlessly bares in the background. Suddenly, my ears perk up. I love this song! I immediately feel revitalized, as if some new-found energy courses through my veins, any remnants of a sluggish feeling vanished. But why does music have this effect on people? And what other ways can music affect our biology?
How does the brain react to music?
To help answer these questions, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study how the brain reacts to music. By scanning their brains while participants listened to various genres of music, they found that there was a change in activity in the auditory and memory regions. In addition, researchers at Northwestern University learned that listening to certain types of music can help people concentrate. To help support this, Dr. Marsha Godkin stated: “Music activates both the left and right brain at the same time, and the activation of both hemispheres can maximize learning and improve memory”.
Furthermore, the study at Wake Forest found that the people who played music displayed significant permanent boosts in brain communication and interpretation of audiovisual signals. These findings indicate that listening to music alone can indeed help exercise one’s brain. However, one should play music to truly reap the cognitive rewards. Not only is audiovisual reception stronger in the brains of musicians, but they often have enlarged corpus callosums and increased grey matter. The corpus callosum acts as a bridge between the two sides of the brain, indicating potentially improved communication between them. Meanwhile, grey matter aids in improving brain plasticity, which supports the offset of neurodegenerative diseases.
Music can not only alter our mood temporarily, but it can also induce permanent changes in one’s brain. It can be a form of expression and creativity, but the many benefits of music add on an even greater value. Next time you’re listening to the radio, perhaps you’ll lean in a little closer and decide for yourself
Author’s Note
I chose to write about this topic, because I’ve been involved in music throughout my life. From playing the piano since childhood to trombone in jazz band, it’s truly something I enjoy. Additionally, the bands at my school are currently preparing for the Lionel Hampton jazz festival in Idaho next week, so I thought this would be a fitting post.
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