Singing and imagined musical improvisation were associated with weaker connectivity to the executive function network in the brain and to the feeling of flow, which allows for unhindered musical creativity.
Psilocybin, a natural psychoactive compound currently being considered for the treatment of depression, alters people's emotional states while listening to music. While listening to music, those who used psilocybin reported enhanced emotional processing. Researchers say combining music with psychedelic therapy may have positive benefits for those suffering from depression.
Study provides empirical evidence to show the brain's predictive ability forms the basis for musical phrasing.
Frequency follow response (FFR) is a strong predictor of a person's ability to recognize and name musical notes, and may be an accurate metric for understanding a person's ability to recognize sounds. FFR may not be a fixed trait and can be improved over time.
Learning music can help fortify neural pathways associated with cognitive function and could help to stave off dementia, researchers report.
When it comes to anticipating how a song will progress, the human brain considers the rhythm and beats that came before.
Autistic children and adults are better at holding and imitating relative pitch than they are with absolute pitch across both speech and song.
Many people listen to music to alleviate stress in their lives, this is especially true in the time of COVID. A new study reports people who experienced an increase in negative emotion during lockdown listened to music to relieve feelings of depression, stress, and fear. Those with a more positive state of mind turned to music as a replacement for social interaction.
Background music in Simlish, an unintelligible language used in the popular game The Sims, allow people to better listen to and understand each other than when the songs are in English, researchers say.
Learning a new language can affect musical processing in children, researchers report. Findings support the theory that musical and linguistic functions are closely linked in the developing brain.
EEG study reveals when we imagine a song, similar brain activity occurs as when we experience moments of silence in music.
Listeners rely on a number of acoustic features to make the distinction between drum music and drum "speech".
