Music and the brain

Of all the arts, music is the most available.

That uplifting, thoroughly moving form of art is around us literally all the time. Yet, deplorably, it sometimes takes the form of “music pollution”; the indiscriminate use of loud music, frequently through loudspeakers, can hurt sensibilities, especially in case of music lovers.

Listening to music involves sensory and cognitive areas of the brain; playing music further adds the motor functions.

How music reaches the brain

Stimulation of any of the senses leads to electric currents in the nerve fibres connecting to the brain. Sound produces air vibrations and this energy when impacts the ear drum causes it to vibrate. This movement in turn move the three small bones (ossicles) in the middle ear. This mechanical movement eventually is transformed to electric impulses in the nerve of hearing, that is mechanical energy is transformed to electrical energy, as in a microphone.

Though the brain has areas dedicated mostly to certain functions, however, for any given function it is multi-central. The main area of perception of sound in the brain is in the left temporal cortex. This is roughly at a level opposite the ear. The left half of the brain is generally for perception whilst the right is for analysis. Music stimulates both sides.

Emotions play a part in the enjoyment of music, and this results in stimulation of more centres. The pleasure we gain from hearing music thus stimulates the reward system, the limbic system, producing endorphin. Vision re-enforces the attention and enjoyment of music stimulates the visual areas of the brain. When hearing music, there is tendency for the motor system to react, as dancing or swirling. As can be seen, many areas in the brain are activated when we hear music.

Even as foetuses, humans hear sounds

The hearing system develops early in foetuses, it matures by 20 weeks (5 months).

It is an accepted fact that foetuses do hear in utero. They react to music; they even start to have a predilections to certain types. This affects what type of music they like to listen when they are in the wide world. This tendency could carry on with them till adult age. It is noteworthy that Mozart (1756-1791) and Alma Deutscher (born 2005) are two music prodigies. Mozart composed his first symphony at 7 years old. Alma, 250 years later, composed music at the age of ten. Both prodigies were born and grew up in musical families.

When we read in the Holy Book about St Elizabeth that when she heard the voice of St Mary: Luke 1:44 “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy”. In this situation, when John, as a six-month-old foetus, heard the voice of the mother of his Master, Christ, he expressed his great joy.

Some children with disabilities excel in music. Both Rex Lewis-Clack and Derek Paravinchi were born blind and had other disabilities, but both grow to be talented pianists.

Pleasant to the ear

What makes a music pleasant to the ear? This depends on the culture, upbringing, and individual preferences of the individual. The melodies, in every culture, are based on the octave. This discovery is attributed to Pythagoras. However, we should remember that Pythagoras, in his formative and learning years, stayed 20 years in Egypt. There is a mathematical correlation between the music rhythm and it being agreeable to hear. This could be interrupted by unexpected loud noises. Hitchcock skilfully used these effects in his films.

Music is credited by helping brain power, a phenomenon commonly known as Mozart Effect. It has been reported that playing classical music of Mozart help students to achieve better grades. A whole industry was built on such assumptions. The same effect could be achieved by any music agreeable to the person in question.

Beethoven: Memory of music stays on

It was also found that among the music preferences of teenagers, beside the music and songs of their own generation, are songs preferred by their parents. The reason is that they were exposed to those songs when they were still in their mothers’ wombs when their parents used to play these types of music.

The memory of the music we hear is retained in our brain. The Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield in the middle of the last century used to operate under local anaesthesia. He went about stimulating different areas of the surface of the brain, the cortex. He mapped the cortical areas as a result of his stimulations. He found that stimulating a certain area of the parietal cortex led patients to remember old lost melodies deep in the fog of their memories. Beethoven suffered from gradual loss of hearing and eventually he lost all his hearing. In his completely silent world, he composed his last and best Symphony, No. 9. All the music and the choral singing was played inside his mind.

Music as healer

Music has healing effects. It helps patients with Parkinson’s disease to synchronise their movements with the rhythm of music. This is due to the overlap of the neural circuits of both music and the motor activity (basal ganglia). Also, as music stimulates multiple areas in the brain, hence in cases of dementia music memory could help improve cognition; patients respond when hearing old melodies still stored in their brains. Further, the beneficial effect of music could be seen in babies in neonatal intensive care units. It has been observed that in the units with background music, the neonates eat more, cry less, and sleep better with resultant fewer days spent in these units.

The healing effect of music is well illustrated in the Bible by how David acted as a music therapist. We read in 1 Samuel, 16: 23” David would take the lyre (harp) and play. Saul would then feel relieved, and the spirit of melancholy would depart from him”.

Enjoying music is a blessing.

Ahmes Labib Pahor FRCS,DHMSA(UK),FICS(USA), Dip.ICS(Egypt), PhD.Hist.Med.(Netherlands). He has many publications in History of Medicine especially Pharaonic Medicine, also in Coptic History and Language of which is a diligent researcher.