Two Benefits of Music For Your Brain

Music literally changes your brain.  There are so many positive benefits of music and specifically for your brain.  As a musician, I might be slightly biased when it comes to the benefits of music, but the research backs up my bias.

Dr. Charles Limb, associate professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University, explains:  "I think there's enough evidence to say that musical experience, musical exposure, musical training, all of those things change your brain.  It allows you to think in a way that you used to not think, and it also trains a lot of other cognitive facilities that have nothing to do with music."

Here's a video clip of Dr. Limb explaining his studies on cochlear implants and how music affects the brain:

Retrieved from:  http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/26/health/mental-health/music-brain-science/index.html,

accessed 2 Dec. 2012.

A study done at Stanford University showed that music helps move the brain to pay attention.  The research "showed that music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory."  Interestingly enough, however, they found that "peak brain activity occurred during a short period of silence between musical movements—when seemingly nothing was happening."  Dr. Jonathan Berger, associate professor of music at Stanford, explained that "music engages the brain over a period of time and the process of listening to music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain attention."

Another example of a benefit is that music can help you remember concepts that are typically more difficult to remember.  Rilla Chaney, a teacher coach, explains how she used music to help her students remember science concepts.  It might seem a bit silly but it seems to work!  Listen to her tell of her experiences with music memorization:

(UPDATE:  embedded link has been taken down - sorry)

I've listed a couple of examples of how music benefits your brain but there are countless more.  As time passes I will update this blog with more of my findings on this topic.  In the mean time, I've listed a few articles on how music benefits the brain:

"Science and Psychology of Music and the Making of War Time Songs"

"Neuroscience of Music – How Music Enhances Learning Through Neuroplasticity"
"Scientists study music's effects on our brains and bodies"

Music Triggering Memories in the Brain

I decided to follow up a bit with that last post on music, memory, and the Alzheimer's brain.  After doing some more research on the subject, I found that the actual science of what is going on in the brain is pretty astonishing.  As mentioned in my last post, we all experience the sense of nostalgia that occurs when we listen to an old song we used to listen to when we were younger.  Petr Janata, a cognitive neuroscientist at University of California, Davis, explains it further:

"What seems to happen is that a piece of familiar music serves as a soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head.  It calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person's face in your mind's eye."

Janata conducted an experiment that measured activity in the brain as subjects listened to 30 different songs that were randomly chosen from the Billboard Top 100 from the years the subjects would have been 8 to 18 years old.  In addition to monitoring the brain activity, Janata had the subjects raise their hands when the song specifically triggered an autobiographical memory instead.  The part of the brain that was affected by this experiment was the medial prefrontal cortex.  It responded quickest to music signature, timescale and tonality but reacted more powerfully when the song triggered an autobiographical memory.

Here is an image of some of the brain scans done from this experiment:

Brain areas showing music tonality-tracking behavior. Different colors represent the 
number of subjects who showed significant tracking behavior.

Source: Cerebral Cortex/Janata, no date

Retrieved from: http://www.livescience.com/health/090224-music-memory.html,
accessed 3 Dec. 2012

I also found this graph explaining some of the results of Janata's experiment:

Graph of Memory Association and Familiarity of Song
Source:  Petr Janata, no date
Retrieved from: http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/08/18/
music-and-memory-1/, accessed  3 Dec 2012.

Honestly, I found this graph a bit confusing but luckily found a good explanation of how to interpret it.  Dave Munger, a blogger on ScienceBlogs.com, commented about this graph:

"'Memory association' indicates the percentage of listeners indicating that they had a particular type of memory associated with a song. 'No association' means they had no memory to go with the song. So nearly all listeners had no memories associated with unfamiliar songs, but when the songs were very familiar, most listeners had either strong autobiographical or somewhat autobiographical memories associated with those songs."

Bringing it back to the research of how music helps those suffering from Alzheimer's, Janata stated that, "It's not going to reverse the disease, but if you can make quality of life better, why not?"  I agree with Janata.  Obviously music won't cure Alzheimer's but if it can significantly increase the quality of life of those who suffer from it, then I feel that more effort should be made in helping those individuals gain access to music.

You can find the entire case study of Janata's research here (for a price):
"Characterisation of music-evoked autobiographical memories" on Taylor & Francis Online
There is also another fascinating study done on the correlation between music and autobiographical memory found here (without a price):
"Remembrance of Things Past:  Music, Autobiographical Memory, and Emotion" on ACRwebsite.org

Music and Alzheimer's

My grandmother had Alzheimer's disease when I was a boy.  I never really got to know her personally due to the distance between us.  I grew up in Louisiana and my grandparents lived in Utah.  She passed away when I was 10 years old.  I do remember some experiences with her and recognized at the time the effects that Alzheimer's had on her.  It is a devastating illness that affects more than just an individual but their entire family.  Memory seems to altogether disappear and someone who you love all of a sudden has no memory of who you are.  My other grandma had dementia in the last few years of her life.  Very similar effects occurred with her memory and recognition of family.

Because of this personal experience with memory loss of loved ones, I was happy to learn of a new program founded by Dan Cohen that provides musical therapy to help those who suffer from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.  It is called Music & Memory.  As stated in its mission statement, it is a "non-profit organization that brings personalized music into the lives of the elderly or infirm through digital music technology, vastly improving quality of life."  The organization provides funding for iPods to be distributed to more than 60 nursing homes and other facilities across the United States and Canada.

Henry Listening to Music
Source:  Michael Rossato-Bennett, no date
Retrieved from:  http://musicandmemory.org, accessed on 3 Dec. 2012.

The premise behind the program is based off research done on the correlation between music and long-term memory.  Most likely you have experienced this phenomenon many times in your life.  Have you ever listened to an old song that you love only to have it spark specific memories from a former time of your life?  That happens to me all the time.  Certain songs that came out when I was in high school always seem to trigger my memory to that time of my life when I hear them nowadays.  The same thing happens to those suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia.  Music reawakens memories in their brain that otherwise seemed to have disappeared.  Michael Rossato-Bennett has produced a stunning documentary about the Music & Memory organization called "Alive Inside."  "Alive Inside" referring to the fact that elderly people who suffer from these illnesses are still alive inside and only need to be awakened.  On their website linked above they include one of their hopes in producing the documentary:  "Like many films that concentrate on a simple story but echo into larger stories, we feel this film raises questions about how we as a society care for the elderly and afflicted."

Here is a short video clip of "Alive Inside," summarizing the documentary.  My favorite part is seeing Henry come alive while listening to music:

Music & Memory Story - Short from Michael Rossato-Bennett on Vimeo.

I wonder what kind of effect music would have had on my grandmothers and what kind of mental spark it could have had on them.  I feel that this is an important topic that shouldn't be dismissed.  As a society we can do a better job to care for the elderly who have paved the way for us.

For more information on this subject check out these awesome articles:
"For Elders With Dementia, Musical Awakenings" on NPR.org
"Group Uses Music To Help Seniors With Alzheimer's Disease" on NY1.com
"Documentary 'Alive Inside' shows the healing power of music" on CNN.com