World of Psychology

Music & The Brain

By Will Meek, PhD

Creating and understanding music is one of the all-time sought-after abilities for we humans. Interestingly, even with all of the brain imaging and wild studies to understand creativity, very little is still known about musical ability. NPR recently consulted with Dr. Oliver Sacks, a neurologist who explains some thought-provoking musical phenomena. He discusses people with brain injuries who suddenly have incredible talent and someone who is basically driven insane by music. If you want some cutting edge ideas about music and the brain, look no further.

Additionally, for those of you who have ever considered taking music lessons or becoming a musician is some form, know that even one year of training will change your brain to the point that it can be seen as different at autopsy, something that is not true for most other things you can become involved in.



    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 19 Oct 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Meek, W. (2007). Music & The Brain. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 13, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/10/19/music-the-brain/

 

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