Brain specialization for music suggests that music may have biological roots i.e. brain has neural networks dedicated specifically to the processing music and is unresponsive to nonmusical input (localization in right temporal lobe/gyros). This suggests that music pertains more to biology than to culture.
Revealed in three conditions:
1. Acquired disorders - e.g. music agnosia, unable to recognize hummed tune but will recognize lyrics for the tune
2. Congenital disorders – e.g. music savant syndrome (highly musical with contradicting social/intellectual impairment VS. congenital amusics (new learning disability, domain specific, born with normal social abilities but inability develop normal musical skills)
3. Brain stimulation – e.g. musicogenic epilepsy, epileptic with music as the trigger. Abnormalities in electrical activity in temporal lobes, predominantly the right.
My summary...
ReplyDeletePeretz uses (1) acquired disorders, such as cerebro-vascular accidents which leave a person with brain damager, (2) congenital disorders, such as the musical savant with autism or someone with congenital amusia, and (3) brain simulation, used primarily in patients with epilepsy; to present various behavioral data supporting the hypothesis of specialized neural substrates for the processing of music. Localization of these proposed networks is discussed by reference to imaging studies. The content of the music-specific neural networks is also discusses, in part by exploring infant data indicating that pitch systems and time regularities may have biological bases at birth. The information is convincing in the argument that music is biologically based. Case studies are frequently cited, making this an interesting chapter.