Music and your brain: Scientists seek to understand how your memory of music affects your brain

A team of researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL) discovered how the memory of music affects the brain . The EFPL team carried out the study through the use of EFPL’s Defitech Foundation Chair in Human-Machine Interface (CNBI) to look at how the brain works when imaginary music is played in the head. In cooperation with a team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley , the EFPL team analyzed the brain activities of an epileptic patient who was also an experienced pianist to examine the brain activity produced when a song is actually playing and when a song is being played mentally. According to Stéphanie Martin, lead author of the study and a doctoral student with the CNBI, they used the method known as electrocorticography, which involves inserting electrodes into the participant’s brain. This technique is also traditionally used to treat people with epilepsy who cannot take medication. Moreover, the electrodes can calculate brain activity with a very high spatial and temporal resolution which is necessary as nerve cells respond quickly. However, Martin said the “recording technique is invasive, and the technology needs to be more advanced for us to be able to measure brain activity with greater accuracy.” For the first task, the researchers asked the participant to play a piece of music on an electric piano with the sound turned on. At the same time, they recorded the participant’s brain activity and the music being played. For the second task, they asked the participant to play the same musical piece, but with the sound of the piano turned off. The brain activity of the participant and the music were also recorded. In the second task, the music was from the patient’s memory and the notes could not be heard. Support our mission […]

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