* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download music and the brain - College of Natural Sciences
Functional magnetic resonance imaging wikipedia , lookup
Nervous system network models wikipedia , lookup
State-dependent memory wikipedia , lookup
Blood–brain barrier wikipedia , lookup
Human multitasking wikipedia , lookup
Limbic system wikipedia , lookup
Activity-dependent plasticity wikipedia , lookup
Trans-species psychology wikipedia , lookup
Neurogenomics wikipedia , lookup
Lateralization of brain function wikipedia , lookup
Neuromarketing wikipedia , lookup
Haemodynamic response wikipedia , lookup
Human brain wikipedia , lookup
Cognitive neuroscience of music wikipedia , lookup
Neuroesthetics wikipedia , lookup
Evolution of human intelligence wikipedia , lookup
Artificial general intelligence wikipedia , lookup
Selfish brain theory wikipedia , lookup
Time perception wikipedia , lookup
Mind uploading wikipedia , lookup
Brain morphometry wikipedia , lookup
Sports-related traumatic brain injury wikipedia , lookup
Neurotechnology wikipedia , lookup
Neuroplasticity wikipedia , lookup
Donald O. Hebb wikipedia , lookup
Neurolinguistics wikipedia , lookup
Aging brain wikipedia , lookup
Neuropsychopharmacology wikipedia , lookup
Neuroanatomy wikipedia , lookup
History of neuroimaging wikipedia , lookup
Cognitive psychology wikipedia , lookup
Neuroeconomics wikipedia , lookup
Neuroinformatics wikipedia , lookup
Impact of health on intelligence wikipedia , lookup
Holonomic brain theory wikipedia , lookup
Metastability in the brain wikipedia , lookup
Brain Rules wikipedia , lookup
Neurophilosophy wikipedia , lookup
Embodied cognitive science wikipedia , lookup
The University of Texas at Austin MUSIC AND THE BRAIN "Music’s role in human experience has been a widely studied topic dating back to Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. These philosophers studied the influence and effects of music on an individual and a society as a whole; each knew that music was a powerful force but lacked the tools to understand why. Today, research in this field has the potential to clarify fundamental aspects of human brain function, from language and complex sequence processing to how the auditory and motor systems are joined together in beat perception and synchronization..." Alexandra Wiechmann Natural Sciences BIOLOGY Describe your proposed field of study. Which academic disciplines does it cross over? In my interdisciplinary study, “Music and the Brain,” I propose to examine what happens in the brain when an individual listens, performs, composes, or reads music. This interest would include studies of cognitive neuroscience, along with neuroanatomy and psychology. Music’s role in human experience has been a widely studied topic dating back to Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. These philosophers studied the influence and effects of music on an individual and a society as a whole; each knew that music was a powerful force but lacked the tools to understand why. Today, research in this field has the potential to clarify fundamental aspects of human brain function, from language and complex sequence processing to how the auditory and motor systems are joined together in beat perception and synchronization. All humans come into the world with a capability for music. Humans are the only species able to perform a beat consistent with a perceived rhythm. Magnetic Resonance Imaging reveals that the brain is highly active when we listen to music. Moreover, the basic human capability to make music is linked to other skills: studies show that children who are involved in music tend to perform better in other fields of learning. Fibers that connect the left and right part of the brain show increased activity when music is involved; unlike in reading, music requires the participation of both sides of the brain. Researchers believe this communication between both hemispheres contributes to music’s capacity to aid in memory function. Another way music has aided people is music therapy, a growing field combining psychology with music, which has proven to help treat patients with psychological disorders as well as serious brain injuries and strokes. One example is former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who has relearned how to talk by retraining her brain with melody and rhythm. Neuroscientists have shown that the power of music is even greater than the ancient philosophers understood, reaching into the very neurons with which we remember, learn and reason. I would like to discover how the different hemispheres, axons and neurons interact when the individual is visually reading or hearing music. My curriculum will incorporate the fields of psychology, music, and neurobiology. Why are you interested in studying this topic? One morning when I was nine, I skipped into my parent’s bedroom and saw my mother on the floor unconscious, shaking violently. I ran to get my dad for help and called 911. The next morning we learned that my mother had a brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme. Though my father knew the condition was terminal, he didn’t tell me. Over the next year, I watched my mother rapidly deteriorate. The tumor had attached itself to the part of the brain that deals with language and memory. Throughout the year my parents would take frequent trips to Duke Medical Center in North Carolina for treatment while I stayed with my grandparents. Each time she returned, her speech and hand-eye coordination were worse. After two months she lost the ability to walk on her own, and after about nine, she began to forget names of people, including myself. One thing that my mother always asked me to do for her over that last year was to play my violin. I had begun the summer before and wasn’t exactly a prodigy. I would practice my Suzuki songs and scales while she would practice on her writing and memory. Although it got harder to communicate with her, she would never stop smiling when I played. She may have been having a tough day, but she never stopped paying attention; the music helped her to stay relaxed and focused. She always wanted to keep trying at what she was working on when I played for her. As she began to lose the ability to speak and understand speech, music became our bridge. Though she could no longer understand my words, I could use my weak skills to not only make my mother happy but to communicate with her through the language of music. For many, music is a form of entertainment. It was for my mother, but it was also something more. What was happening in her brain when I played for her? I would like to explore the idea of how music affects the brain--whether we’re listening, performing, or even reading notation. I have always been aware of music’s beauty and mystery, but with the IP Fellows program I will be able to study its mysterious connection with the brain. Name two faculty with research interests in your area. Include their home departments and relevant research interests. If a research interest isn't obviously related to your topic, explain its relevance. -Eugenia Costa-Giomi Butler School of Music Dr. Costa-Giomi is studying the psychology of music; musical development; music perception and cognition during childhood and infancy; the nonmusical benefits of music instruction; and inequalities in access to music education in public schools. -Russell Poldrack School of Biological Sciences Dr. Poldrack's primary research interests are in the cognitive neuroscience of learning and memory, decision making, and executive function, using neuroimaging as the primary method to examine these questions. His recent work has focused on the neural systems that support flexible and rapid inhibition of ongoing behavior, and their role in adaptive behavior and decision making. Dr. Poldrack is also heavily involved in the development of informatics tools to support the mapping of cognitive function to neural systems, primarily through the Cognitive Atlas project. -Alison Preston School of Biological Sciences Dr. Preston is studying the understanding of memory and how it is implemented in the human brain. Using a combination of behavioral and brain imaging techniques, Dr. Preston's research explores how we form new memories, how we remember past experiences, and how our memory for the past can influence our present behavior. Explain how each course is relevant to this field. What do you hope to learn from each? Primary Courses BIO 365R VERTEBRATE NEUROBIOLOGY This course will introduce the nervous system and other excitable tissues. Membrane potentials, ion channels, synaptic transmission, learning and memory, skeletal and cardiac muscle, and how systems of neurons lead to sensation and motor output will also be looked at. This course would help me understand the function of the brain and also the connection of the brain to the rest of the body. PSY 341K COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE This course takes the rapidly developing "Embodiment" perspective on the evolution of brainbehavior relations in function and speech, considering in particular the evolution of hemispheric specializations of the brain and the organization of speech in the left cerebral hemisphere. This course would help me understand the development of the brain over time in function and organization. PSY 341K COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC This course explores the cognitive foundations of music; the full range of physical, psychophysical, and cognitive mechanisms that lead to musical experience. The course begins with the physics of musical instruments and the physical qualities of musical pitch and then leads into the psychophysics of hearing sounds and how individuals experience consonance and dissonance. The course will also explore the structure in working memory that allows individual pitch to be organized into musical expressions. This course would help me in my minor because it specifically focuses on the psychological aspects of music and its physical properties. Alternate Courses PSY 305 INTRO TO COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY This course offers a broad survey of topics in cognitive psychology including perception, attention, memory, problem solving, and decision making. This course would help me understand the cognitive functioning of the brain and would teach me how the brain reacts during communication. MUS 392 PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC This class focuses on the psychological aspects of music, emphasizing perception, experimental aesthetics, music function, and the nature of musical ability. It is also an overview of current research in music learning, music preference, acoustics, the influence of music on listener behavior, and measurements of music achievement and performance. This is a graduate course and my enrollment would need to be approved by the instructor. The course covers everything I want to learn. PSY 308 BIOPSYCHOLOGY This course is an introduction to brain function and psychological processes. There is a biological approach to understanding the neural basis of behavior and processes that affect emotion, perception, and cognition. This course would help me understand the nervous system and its control of sensations throughout the body and its emotions.