Since 2006, two UCF professors 麻豆精品 S� neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya and world-renowned violinist Ayako Yonetani 麻豆精品 S� have been teaching one of the most popular courses in The Burnett Honors College. 麻豆精品 S淢usic and the Brain 麻豆精品 S� explores how music impacts brain function and human behavior, including by reducing stress, pain and symptoms of depression as well as improving cognitive and motor skills, spatial-temporal learning and neurogenesis, which is the brain 麻豆精品 S檚 ability to produce neurons. Sugaya and Yonetani teach how people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 and Parkinson 麻豆精品 S檚 also respond positively to music.
麻豆精品 S淯sually in the late stages, Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 patients are unresponsive, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut once you put in the headphones that play [their favorite] music, their eyes light up. They start moving and sometimes singing. The effect lasts maybe 10 minutes or so even after you turn off the music. 麻豆精品 S�
This can be seen on an MRI, where 麻豆精品 S渓ots of different parts of the brain light up, 麻豆精品 S� he says. We sat down with the professors, who are also husband and wife, and asked them to explain which parts of the brain are activated by music.
How the Brain Responds to Music
Frontal Lobe
What
Used in thinking, decision-making and planning
How
麻豆精品 S淭he frontal lobe is the most important to being a human. We have a big frontal lobe compared to other animals. By listening to music, we can enhance its functions, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says.
Temporal Lobe
What
Processes what we hear
How
“We use the language center to appreciate music, which spans both sides of the brain, though language and words are interpreted in the left hemisphere while music and sounds are inerpreted in the right hemisphere,” Yonetani says.
Broca’s Area
What
Enables us to produce speech
How
麻豆精品 S淲e use this part of the brain to express music, 麻豆精品 S� Yonetani says. 麻豆精品 S淧laying an instrument may improve your ability to communicate better. 麻豆精品 S�
Wernicke’s Area
What
Comprehends written and spoken language
How
麻豆精品 S淲e use this part of the brain to analyze and enjoy music, 麻豆精品 S� Yonetani says.
Occipital Lobe
What
Processes what we see
How
麻豆精品 S淧rofessional musicians use the occipital cortex, which is the visual cortex, when they listen to music, while laypersons, like me, use the temporal lobe 麻豆精品 S� the auditory and language center. This suggests that [musicians] might visualize a music score when they are listening to music, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says.
Cerebellum
What
Coordinates movement and stores physical memory
How
麻豆精品 S淎n Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 patient, even if he doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 recognize his wife, could still play the piano if he learned it when he was young because playing has become a muscle memory. Those memories in the cerebellum never fade out, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says.
Nucleus Accumbens
What
Seeks pleasure and reward and plays a big role in addiction, as it releases the neurotransmitter dopamine
How
麻豆精品 S淢usic can be a drug 麻豆精品 S� a very addictive drug because it 麻豆精品 S檚 also acting on the same part of the brain as illegal drugs, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says. 麻豆精品 S淢usic increases dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, similar to cocaine. 麻豆精品 S�
Amygdala
What
Processes and triggers emotions
How
麻豆精品 S淢usic can control your fear, make you ready to fight and increase pleasure, 麻豆精品 S� Yonetani says. 麻豆精品 S淲hen you feel shivers go down your spine, the amygdala is activated. 麻豆精品 S�
Hippocampus
What
Produces and retrieves memories, regulates emotional responses and helps us navigate. Considered the central processing unit of the brain, it 麻豆精品 S檚 one of the first regions of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 disease, leading to confusion and memory loss.
How
麻豆精品 S淢usic may increase neurogenesis in the hippocampus, allowing production of new neurons and improving memory, 麻豆精品 S� Yonetani says.
Hypothalamus
What
Maintains the body 麻豆精品 S檚 status quo, links the endocrine and nervous systems, and produces and releases essential hormones and chemicals that regulate thirst, appetite, sleep, mood, heart rate, body temperature, metabolism, growth and sex drive 麻豆精品 S� to name just a few
How
If you play Mozart, for example, 麻豆精品 S渉eart rate and blood pressure reduce, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says.
Corpus Callosum
What
Enables the left and right hemispheres to communicate, allowing for coordinated body movement as well as complex thoughts that require logic (left side) and intuition (right side)
How
麻豆精品 S淎s a musician, you want to have the right-hand side and the left-hand side of the brain in coordination, so they talk to each other, 麻豆精品 S� Sugaya says. This allows pianists, for example, to translate notes on a sheet to the keys their fingers hit to produce music.
Putamen
What
Processes rhythm and regulates body movement and coordination
How
麻豆精品 S淢usic can increase dopamine in this area, and music increases our response to rhythm, 麻豆精品 S� Yonetani says. 麻豆精品 S淏y doing this, music temporarily stops the symptoms of Parkinson 麻豆精品 S檚 disease. Rhythmic music, for example, has been used to help Parkinson 麻豆精品 S檚 patients function, such as getting up and down and even walking because Parkinson 麻豆精品 S檚 patients need assistance in moving, and music can help them kind of like a cane. Unfortunately, after the music stops, the pathology comes back. 麻豆精品 S�
