Brain on Music
The article “This is your brain on music” written by
Elizabeth Lanau and posted on CNN discussed a study which was done to
investigate the neurological effects that music has on an individual.
Salimpoor, a researcher, found that when listening to music, certain parts of
the brain are affected. The study tested the effects of either anti-anxiety
medicine or music on patients who were going into surgery. The outcome was
measured by the patients’ stress hormone and their self-reported feelings of
anxiety. The data revealed that those who listened to music experienced less
feelings of anxiety than those who were given medicine. Further research tested
individuals’ brain activity, using an fMRI, while they were listening to music.
The brain shows activity in similar areas across the brain. From here,
researchers hope to focus more on what chemicals are involved during this
activity.
This
reminds me of the mesolimbocortical dopamine system that we discussed in bio
physiology because it is the major reward system. One could wonder whether the
mesolimbocortical dopamine system is active when listening to music because it
has a medicinal affect on patients, meaning that they may have an emotional
response. In the same way that drugs can be addicting and cause this area to
activate, could music do the same? Additionally, I have learned about how the
superior temporal gyrus effects emotion. Similarly, music works with this part
of the brain in storing what type of music a person has previously heard,
causing them to gravitate towards that type of music.
This article incorporated two different studies to
support their statement. The article briefly discussed the articles and how
they related to what the writer was trying to convey, which made the article
easy for the reader to understand. The article was also broken up into several
sections, which also made it easier for the reader to understand because the
information flowed together. This
article would seem more credible if the author included the year when
discussing the researchers’ findings. Overall, this was a very interesting and
clearly written article that shows the positive affects music can have on an
individual. This is important because it may be better for a person’s body to
listen to music rather than receive medicine; like mentioned in the article- it
is also cheaper to give people music as a medicinal treatment rather than
anti-anxiety drugs.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/15/health/brain-music-research/index.html
I find how music can effect the brain interesting. Music is around us daily whether it be on radio or live performance, even on tv. Music is everywhere and has a strong ability to effect a person's mood and can be used as an alternative to things such as medication. Not only has it been proven to reduce the feelings of anxiety it also have many other beneficial effects such as helping in improving learning, helps with pain and helps reduce stress. There has been some research with music training and showing how it can lead to higher test scores, higher IQ, being able to pay attention to specific sounds. They also have music therapy to help people who have had strokes or have a long life disease.
ReplyDeleteMusic influences ones emotion state tremendously- changing ones mood from sad to joyous within seconds of hearing vibrations of sounds that are. meant to evoke those specific emotions. Music is more of a holistic approach to healing that medicine in ways cannot compare to; similar to CBT when relating to some drug addictions- getting to the root of what led to the addiction insets of proposing another type of medication has the potential to be more rewarding and have more lasting effects. I would imagine the parasympathetic nervous system to be active as well, reducing activity and restoring energy during the time that one is listening to music, feeling the vibrations and positive energy.
ReplyDeleteThe language of the music, is universal language. People might might see each other for the first time but music is able to connect them. Often I hear from my friends, that they wish they could create the music. On that I usually answer that they are living music. Every day our heart beats the rhythm. That is how musician are creating the beat or melody. Often our heartbeat is responsible of our mood, temper, anxiety and other mental stages. As the article says, music is like a drug that can manipulate our behavior. It can either get rid of the pain or make another emotional breakdown. Either way people cannot live without it.
ReplyDeleteMusic is ultimately patterns of vibrations that we determine to be pleasureable (or not) being that sound is so closely related to the nature of structures in general (molecules vibrating at certain frequencies) I do not find it strange to see that Music could have beneficial effects on the structures within us. Music, sounds, and our perceptions of them are involved in the release of chemicals within the brain. There are certain tones and frequencies that are proven to resonate with specific areas of the brain or body. Binural beats have also shown promising connections to music and brain functioning. I think that exploring sound would be a very useful resource for understanding the nature of many things. (BRANDON JONES)
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