Effects of Music on the Brain

I always listen to music when I'm in the kitchen just out of habit, for enjoyment and to break the silence. Turns out, at the same time, listening to music is also improving brain health. This is because music activates almost all areas of the brain. It activates the area of the brain that is close to your ears called the auditory cortex, which controls sound processing. In addition, music also activates areas of the brain involved in emotion, memory and the motor system. One study using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), showed that more brain areas are activated when listening to familiar music that you like. A small study compared Bach against other types of music including self selected familiar, Gagaku (Japanese classical music) and Chaplin (containing words) and found listening to Bach helped form the most connections in the language processing areas. Music affects a persons current mood. Sad music definitely leaves you with a different feeling than an upbeat happy song. This is due to music affecting the areas of the brain that control emotion such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex. Another study looked at the link between music's effect on emotion and that emotion's effect on memory. Music that evokes emotions at certain points in a person's life will enhance recall of those events at later times. Nursing homes with Alzheimer's patients use music to help patients remember. The patient might not remember a lot of things, but one thing they do remember is songs. My aunt is in a home with Alzheimer's. She doesn't remember or say much, but was singing along to an old song one day. Some nursing homes have special days recreating an era from their youth with dancing and music. It helps those people feel young again. I know listening to 80's hair band music takes me back to my youth. lol Music is being used to help people recover from movement illnesses like stroke and traumatic brain injuries. Music helps stimulate the areas of the brain that were shut off by a stroke or other injury. It encourages neuroplasticity allowing damaged neurons to reorganize and reconnect in order to start working again. Exposure to certain music, such as Mozart, has also been found to help reduce seizures in people with epilepsy by reducing epileptiform discharge, which are abnormal spikes that occur during an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that measures electrical activity in the brain. Another area music is used is to improve focus. Programmers tend to listen to music while they work in order to stay focused on the work. There are even music playlists online just for programmers. I'm a big fan of freeCodeCamp.org for improving my skills, but they also have 24/7 streaming music for programmers on their site. I tend to just listen to the television while I work, but based on studies, music would probably be a better option. Challenge: Try incorporating listening to music you like into your day, if you don't already. See how it makes you feel. Also try listening to music from different times in your life. See if it brings back memories. Make sure it's uplifting music though. Don't listen to sad music, especially if you are prone to depression. I gave up new country music because most of it is just too depressing. I still listen to classic country music from the 80's, early 90's. That doesn't bother me. Most likely because that is what I grew up listening to. Resources: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-is-music-good-for-the-brain-2020100721062 https://theartofantiaging.com/the-benefits-of-music-for-mind-body/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24552785/ https://www.everydayhealth.com/stroke/music-therapy-is-a-powerful-tool-for-stroke-recovery/ https://www.flintrehab.com/music-therapy-for-stroke-patients/ #ads More Music / Brain Resources