Favorite music has greatest impact on brain connectivity

Favoritemusichasgreatestimpactonbrain
connectivity
April12,2017

Itdoesn'tmatterifit'sBach,theBeatles,BradPaisleyorBrunoMars.Your
favoritemusiclikelytriggersasimilartypeofactivityinyourbrainasother
people'sfavoritesdointheirs.

That'soneofthethingsJonathanBurdette,M.D.,hasfoundinresearching
music'seffectsonthebrain.

"Musicisprimal.Itaffectsallofus,butinverypersonal,uniqueways,"said
Burdette,aneuroradiologistatWakeForestBaptistMedicalCenter."Your
interactionwithmusicisdifferentthanmine,butit'sstillpowerful.

"Yourbrainhasareactionwhenyoulikeordon'tlikesomething,including
music.We'vebeenabletotakesomebabystepsintoseeingthat,and'dislike'
looksdifferentthan'like'andmuchdifferentthan'favorite.'"

Tostudyhowmusicpreferencesmightaffectfunctionalbrainconnectivity
theinteractionsamongseparateareasofthebrainBurdetteandhisfellow
investigatorsusedfunctionalmagneticresonanceimaging(fMRI),which
depictsbrainactivitybydetectingchangesinbloodflow.Scansweremadeof
21peoplewhiletheylistenedtomusictheysaidtheymostlikedanddisliked
fromamongfivegenres(classical,country,rap,rockandChineseopera)and
toasongorpieceofmusictheyhadpreviouslynamedastheirpersonal
favorite.

ThosefMRIscansshowedaconsistentpattern:Thelisteners'preferences,not
thetypeofmusictheywerelisteningto,hadthegreatestimpactonbrain
connectivityespeciallyonabraincircuitknowntobeinvolvedininternally
focusedthought,empathyandselfawareness.Thiscircuit,calledthedefault
modenetwork,waspoorlyconnectedwhentheparticipantswerelisteningto
themusictheydisliked,betterconnectedwhenlisteningtothemusicthey
likedandthemostconnectedwhenlisteningtotheirfavorites.

Theresearchersalsofoundthatlisteningtofavoritesongsalteredthe
connectivitybetweenauditorybrainareasandaregionresponsibleformemory
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connectivitybetweenauditorybrainareasandaregionresponsibleformemory
andsocialemotionconsolidation.

"Giventhatmusicpreferencesareuniquelyindividualizedphenomenaandthat
musiccanvaryinacousticcomplexityandthepresenceorabsenceoflyrics,
theconsistencyofourresultswasunexpected,"theresearcherswroteinthe
journalNatureScientificReports(Aug.28,2014)."Thesefindingsmayexplain
whycomparableemotionalandmentalstatescanbeexperiencedbypeople
listeningtomusicthatdiffersaswidelyasBeethovenandEminem."

NotsurprisingtoBurdettewastheextentoftheconnectivityseeninthe
participants'brainswhentheywerelisteningtotheirfavoritetunes.

"Thereareprobablysomefeaturesinmusicthatmakeyoufeelacertainway,
butit'syourexperiencewithitthatisevenmoreimportant,"saidBurdette,
whoalsoisprofessorofradiologyandvicechairmanofresearchatWake
ForestSchoolofMedicine."Yourassociationswithcertainmusicinvolvemany
differentpartsofthebrain,andthey'reverystrong.

"Insomecases,youmightnotevenliketheparticularsong,butyoulikethe
memoriesorfeelingsthatyouassociatewithit."

Inotherresearchprojects,BurdetteandcolleaguesattheSchoolofMedicine
andtheUniversityofNorthCarolinaGreensborohavefoundthattrainedmusic
conductorsarelikelytobebetteratcombiningandusingauditoryandvisual
cluesthanpeoplewithoutmusicaltrainingthatactivityinbrainareas
associatedwithvisiondecreasesduringtasksthatinvolvelisteningandthat
differentlevelsofcomplexityinmusiccanhavedifferenteffectsonfunctional
brainconnectivity.

"Ifindthistypeofworkfascinating,becauseIthinkmusicissoimportant,"
Burdettesaid."Ifsciencecanhelpgetmorepeopletorecognizewhatmusic
doestoandforus,great."

MusicisjustasmallpartofBurdette'sresearchactivitieshismostrecently
publishedstudy,forexample,showedthatbrainvolumecouldbeanaccurate
predictorofsuccessinweightlossattemptsbytheelderlybutithaslong
beenabigofparthislife.

Burdettegrewupplayingviola,pianoandguitar.Hehasbeensingingsince

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childhoodandcontinuestodoso,includinginthechorusinproductionsstaged
bythePiedmontOpera,ofwhichhehasbeenaboardmemberformorethan
10years.He'salsodonesomeconducting.Hiswife,ShonaSimpson,plays
piano.TheirthreeteenagedaughtersFiona,EllieandJessieperform
professionallyastheDanRiverGirls.Hisbrother,Kevin,isasingerwhohas
appearedasasoloistwiththeMetropolitanOpera,LosAngelesPhilharmonic
andothertoptieroperacompaniesandsymphonyorchestras.

"Musicismyavocation,"thephysicianinthefamilysaid."Radiologyismy
vocation."

Burdetteadditionallyhasdeepinterest,ifnotdirectinvolvement,inmusic's
clinicalapplications.

"Musicisn'tgoingtocureanything,butitdefinitelycanplayatherapeutic
role,"hesaid.

IncountriessuchasGermany,Burdettenoted,musictherapyiscommonlyan
integralpartoftherehabilitationprocessforpeoplewhohavehadstrokes,
brainsurgeryortraumaticbraininjuries.

"Ifyou'retryingtorestoreneuroplasticityinthebrain,toreestablishsomeof
theconnectionsthatweretherebeforetheinjury,musiccanbeabighelp,and
I'dliketoseeitusedmorewidelyinthiscountry,"hesaid.

BurdettealsoisaproponentofprogramsthathelppeoplewithAlzheimer's,
dementiaandothercognitiveandphysicalproblemsreconnectwiththeworld
throughmusic.OnesuchprogramisMusic&Memory,whichemploysiPods
withcustomizedplaylistsfeaturingsongspopularwhentheparticipating
individualwasunder30yearsold.

"Youcanactuallyseethepowerofmusic,"Burdettesaid."Peoplewhowere
justsittingthere,notengagedinanything,lightupwhentheystarthearing
musicfromwhentheywere25.

"It'sfantastic.Whatelsecandothat?Ican'tthinkofanythingotherthan
music."

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Source:
http://www.wakehealth.edu/

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