Mirror neurons both control movement and respond to the sight of it, giving rise to the notion that their activity during passive observation is a silent rehearsal for when they become engaged in active movement. In the right hemisphere, synchronization was localized to areas involved in recognizing musical structure and pattern (the inferior frontal cortex) and interpersonal understanding (the inferior frontal and postcentral cortices). These sites also involve “mirror neurons,” brain cells that are thought to enables a mirroring or internalization of others’ thoughts and actions. It may function in the retrieval of sounds and patterns that give rise to musical expectations.īut it is the right brain hemisphere that is most often associated with interpretation of musical melody-in contrast to the left hemisphere, which is specialized for the interpretation of speech. This area is important for empathy, the understanding of others’ thoughts and intentions, and verbal working memory used for expressing thought. Synchronous brain activity was localized in the left hemisphere of the brain, to an area known as the temporal-parietal junction. The authors explained that the listener required time to initially understand the musical pattern and was later able to enjoy the performance because it matched that person’s expectations. Interbrain coherence was insignificant during the early part of each piece and greatest toward its end. In all, there were 12 selections of familiar musical works, including “Edelweiss,” Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” “Auld Lang Syne” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The brain activities of 16 listeners were compared to that of a single violinist.Īll the musical pieces resulted in synchronization of brain activity between the musician and listener, but this was especially true of the more popular performances. (More oxygen suggests greater activity, because the body works to keep active neurons supplied with it.) Musical performances caused increases in oxygenated blood flow to areas of the brain related to understanding patterns, interpersonal intentions and expression.ĭata for the musician, collected during a performance, was compared to those for the listener during playback. Researchers tracked changes in local brain activity by measuring levels of oxygenated blood. In the study, a violinist performed brief excerpts from a dozen different compositions, which were videotaped and later played back to a listener. This result offers insight into the nature of musical exchanges and demonstrates that the musical experience runs deep: we dance and feel the same emotions together, and our neurons fire together as well. And the greater the degree of synchrony, the study found, the more the audience enjoys the performance. The performers and audience seem to be moving as one, as synchronized to one another as the light show is to the beat.Ī new paper in the journal NeuroImage has shown that this synchrony can be seen in the brain activities of the audience and performer. Some wave their arms over their head, and others dance in place. You can see that many of them are singing, the lights flashing to the rhythm, while other fans are clapping in time. All around you, people revel in the same familiar music. When a concert opens with a refrain from your favorite song, you are swept up in the music, happily tapping to the beat and swaying with the melody.
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