Golden Silence - Learning from what's missing!
August 5th 2007 09:44
Signature Tune
Researchers at Stanford and McGill universities say they have learned more about how memories are catalogued, by studying brain activity as people listen to unfamiliar symphonies with gaps between movements.
When the music stops, brain scans register a burst of activity, apparently drawing a line between one musical event and another, Daniel Levitin, a co-author of the study, told CBC News Online on Friday.
"Usually you associate brain activity with something going on," he said. "Here it's associated with something going off, essentially."
When the music stops, brain scans register a burst of activity, apparently drawing a line between one musical event and another, Daniel Levitin, a co-author of the study, told CBC News Online on Friday.
"Usually you associate brain activity with something going on," he said. "Here it's associated with something going off, essentially."
It is quite interesting to know these things. They draw an analogy with remembering what one has for lunch, which they say is easily explained because lunch has a beginning and an ending.
They found music was functionally convenient and expedient as it is both fun and holds people's attention while they listen during MRI scanning. They also chose music which was not very familiar so it would require concentration.
Music apparently maps almost every area of the brain which has been studied. They were looking for neural circuitry to establish event segmentation commonly known as beginning and ending.
They describe their findings as exciting.
For a more comprehensive view of their studies refer to the following Link to CBC News report on Technology and Science
Did you find this interesting? I certainly did, the more we learn from research the more progress we can make with our memory function which really is a great asset in life.
Your comments would be most welcome.
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