Brain Plasticity Induced by Musical Training

Wan, C., & Schlaug, G. (2013). Brain plasticity induced by musical training. In D. Deutsch (Ed.), The psychology of music (3rd ed.) (pp. 565 - 581). London, UK: Academic Press.

The authors summarize research pertaining to effects of music training on brain organization and function.  Research points to the beneficial effects of music training on cognitive development in children. Studies have implicated improvements in reading abilities; verbal recall; vocabulary, mathematical, and spatial skills amongst musically trained children. Musical tasks may affect performance in non-musical areas because of shared neural resources. Although both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown the positive impact of musical training on cognitive function, further research is required to gain better understanding of the mechanisms underlying associations between cognitive development and musical training. Imaging studies have shown, for example, larger anterior corpus callosum in musicians, particularly those who began training prior to age seven. Research using imaging methods such as magnetoencephalography,  functional magnetic resonance imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging continues to yield information showing the effects of music training throughout the life span on structural and functional brain organization. This has important implications for rehabilitation from neurological impairments, such as acquired brain injuries, as well as stimulation of speech production in nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  

Interactions between auditory and motor areas of the brain are critical for the acquisition of verbal as well as musical skills.  Ongoing research is determining the therapeutic potential of music-based interventions in facilitating language production in stroke patients with aphasia and nonverbal autistic children. Neuroimaging has demonstrated the shared brain networks of music and language, supporting the notion of active, intensive music interventions in facilitating language output. Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) has been used successfully with patients suffering from nonfluent aphasia; neuroimaging studies have shown reorganization of brain functions, with increased right hemisphere network activation, including premotor, interior frontal, and temporal lobes, as well as changes in the arcuate fasciculus connecting these regions. Auditory-motor mapping has been used successfully with nonverbal children with ASD, using a combination of word and phrase intonation and motor activity.  While research results demonstrating links between music training and neuroplasticity are compelling, it is critical that further randomized clinical trials be undertaken to support the development of music-based interventions to aid in development and rehabilitation.

Reflection:

This is a fascinating time to be exploring links between music training and learning throughout the life span, as well as implications for music interventions on health care practices. Technological advances are providing insights into the effects of music on brain structure and function that we have previously had an intuitive understanding of, but no scientific support. It is important that we continue to build on these scientific discoveries to support the inclusion of music in education and health care practice. To gain acceptance within the scientific community and the attention of educational and health care systems, evidence-based clinical research needs to be undertaken in addition to qualitative research to substantiate gains and provide rationale for music-based interventions in educational and health care settings. Without such supporting evidence, music risks being relegated to an ancillary rather than a primary role in facilitating change in educational and health care contexts.

WELCOME TO THE NEW MUSIC AND BRAIN BLOG YEAR!! - This blog has to date had around 77,000 views from all over the world. We will again review the latest articles, books, videos, etc with reflections making applications to music experience. This term there are 18 new bloggers contributing to this site. Happy Blogging and Happy Reading!

Spinal Modulation of Nociception by Music

Spinal Modulation of Nociception by Music

Roy, M., Lebuis, A., Hugueville, L., Peretz, I., and Rainville, P. 2012 European Journal of Pain, 16: 870-877.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1532-2149.2011.00030.x/abstract

Summary

Previous studies show that music has an ability to modulate pain, and this paper aims to elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms of this. Pleasant music provides a decrease in pain, while unpleasant music excerpts either has no effect or worsens pain. This trend is also seen with emotional inducers such as pictures, films, odours, hypnosis, and emotional sentences. This phenomenon when elicited by pictures is in part mediated by descending pain-modulatory pathways. Descending pathways are white-matter spinal tracts that carry information from the brain to the spinal cord. This was measured via the amplitude of the spinally mediated nociceptive reflex (RIII reflex). Therefore, pleasant images seem to mediate pain by inhibiting the nociceptive pathway at the spinal cord. This paper investigates the theory that pain mediation by music operates via similar pathways. This study also looked to address whether pleasant-relaxing music had a greater analgesic effect than pleasant-stimulating music. This question arises from contradicting theories that arousal either enhances or dampens nociceptive inhibition.

 In order to measure the influence of music on pain, RIII reflexes were measured after moderately painful electrical shock. . This study used 30 healthy individuals, with an average age of 24.26 years. After the pin-prick shock, and musical excerpt (pleasant-arousing, pleasant-relaxing, unpleasant, or silence), participants rated their pain on a visual analogue scale from 0-100. In order to measure individual arousal or sentiment brought up by the musical excerpt, participants rated the excerpt on a Self-Assessment Manikin test from 1-9 (1=unpleasant and 9=pleasant, 1= low arousal and 9= high arousal). 

In terms of results, there was no difference in pain ratings between silence and pleasant-stimulating music, and only a mild difference between silence and pleasant-relaxing music. There was no statistical difference between the pain ratings after pleasant-stimulating and pleasant-relaxing musical excerpts. Pain ratings were statistically higher during unpleasant music when compared with both types of pleasant music. Intriguingly, reflex amplitudes were at the absolute lowest during silence, which means silence mediated pain better than pleasant or unpleasant music. Pain perception was well correlated with RIII amplitudes, which supports the hypothesis that music-mediated pain alleviation operates in part via inhibition of descending pain-modulatory pathways. However, there was a discrepancy in that participant-rated pain for pleasant (both types) music generally decreased or remained the same in comparison with silent trials, but the RIII amplitudes were statistically higher with pleasant music than with silence. 

Comment:

 In the summary of this paper, the authors state that this work "reinforces the idea that music is a powerful emotional inducer that can have a strong influence on pain." As much as I applaud the efforts in elucidating the effects of music on pain in humans, this conclusion was not even remotely supported by their data. Their data found no improvement in pain mediation in pleasant music trials, when compared to silence. Additionally, silence produced a stronger analgesic effect than pleasant or unpleasant music trials. This does not support the conclusion that music has a strong influence on pain. There are several factors that would need to be addressed before this claim could be made, including: fear conditioning, the effect of music on clinically relevant intensities of pain, and duration of the musical excerpt. 

 Firstly, and ironically the authors directly admit this point in the discussion, when you perform consecutive shock trials that are preceded by music, the music begins to serve as a cue for the coming shock. This creates negative anticipation of the event, and serves to make the shock seem more painful. Anticipation is key in many aspects of emotional response, such as appetite, fear, excitement, or even sexual arousal (Baumeister, et al., 2007, http://psr.sagepub.com/content/11/2/167.short). No matter how pleasant the music excerpt was to the participant, repeated trials train the brain to associate music with an upcoming shock, which of course would create anticipation, and a larger negative response. It would have been a much more conclusive experiment model to have extended background music interspersed by random shocks, as opposed to ordered, semi-predictable shocks during short musical excerpts of only 1 minute in length. 

 The other drawback on this experiment was that it measured the effect of music on pain from a pin-prick shock. This is a start, and experimental design on music and pain in humans is obviously restricted for ethical reasons, but the ability for music to mediate pain associated with a pin-prick is not clinically relevant.  The analgesic effect of music is probably substantially altered at a higher intensity or duration of pain. What would have been more interesting would have been to assess patients who were recovering from a commonplace surgery in a single-blind study. One could qualitatively evaluate the pain ratings of patients that had silence, pleasant-stimulating, or pleasant-relaxing music in their recovery rooms. One could inform the patient that the study aims to investigate subtle ambient differences, such as music, wall colour, or artwork and their effect on pain perception, which would allow for patient consent while maintaining the single-blind model. The only challenge with this is that it would be inconvenient and possibly uncomfortable to measure the RIII amplitude of a recovering surgery patient; however, this study validated a correlation between RIII amplitude and skin conductance response (SCR), which is much less intrusive to quantify. That being said, RIII amplitude and SCR may only be applicable to measuring pain associated with a brief, acute shock, and may not be helpful in measuring extended pain during the course of a surgical recovery. 

 Lastly, Jourdain's book elaborates on the point that music is so powerful in part because the listener builds anticipation of chord resolution throughout the piece. Beethoven's Symphony 7 allegretto, arguably one of the most emotionally riveting compositions in history, does not elicit its strong arousal or pleasurable response in 1 minute. In order for music to elicit its maximum potential for pleasure, and potentially analgesic effects, it requires preparation time and context in order for the listener to build necessary anticipation. Using a 1 minute musical except is in many ways like measuring the satiation potential of gourmet food by evaluating a microwave dinner. 

 On the other hand, pain studies in relation to music is an extremely difficult subject matter to approach, because you can't use an animal model, and you also can't intentionally subject human participants to clinically relevant levels of pain. That being said, this study was a reasonable start. Also, I feel the comparison of RIII amplitudes with the patients' qualitative pain scoring was an elegant solution to assessing pain levels as accurately as possible, while simultaneously supporting their hypothesis of descending pain-modulatory pathway involvement. 

 In summary, there was significant room for improvement, and this study did not accurately address the question of the use of music as a complementary analgesic, nor did it solve the debate on whether pleasant-stimulating music is of greater or lesser benefit than pleasant-relaxing music. However, it did confirm the hypothesis that music-mediated pain relief involves descending pain-modulatory pathways in the spinal cord. 

http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/docview/325285715?accountid=14771

van Luijtelaar, Gilles; Verbraak, Marc; van den Bunt, Martijn, MSc; Keijsers, Ger;Arns, Martijn, MSc. EEG findings in burnout patients. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 22, 208-217.

Burnout is a disorder characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, depersonalization, cynicism, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment in regards to one’s work. Burnout rates are high among high-stress occupations (the medical field is an often-cited example), including musicians. 

I was interested in whether I could find any research on the specific neurological symptoms of burnout, and what might be done to alleviate them. As it turns out, a 2010 study examined the first part of this question using EEG. Researchers compared patients diagnosed with burnout syndrome with healthy patients in order to establish whether there were any distinctive neurological markers of burnout. Burnout shares many symptoms in common with both depression and chronic fatigue syndrome; however, the study found that burnout was distinctive from both these disorders. Specifically, burnout patients exhibited a certain type of brain wave that is associated with reduced cognitive function and decision making; this wave can be present in depression patients, but depression also frequently shows frontal-lobe asymmetry, which was not present in the burnout patients. Researchers suggested that prolonged stress could impact the functioning of the hippocampus, which can result in the type of wave observed in the burnout patients. The researchers believed that, although burnout shared characteristics with both depression and chronic fatigue syndrome, it had distinctive enough neurological markers to be diagnosed separately.

These findings are interesting in terms of recognition of this disorder for diagnosis, but I was unable to find similar neurology-based research regarding treatment. It may be that this research is too new to have been investigated for treatment purposes. The Web is full of informal articles regarding treatment of burnout in musicians; many, however, are predicated on the idea that one already has a musical career in progress and is working too much. Burnout among music students out of professional frustration and lack of fulfilling music-making is also common; it would be wonderful if this research led to new treatment ideas that might allow more music students to remain committed to the passion that brought them to music in the first place. 

Music Enculturation and Brain Development in Infants

SUMMARY:

     Music has been a part of humanity since the beginning of time. Music has been used in every culture to mark traditions/rites of passages, facilitate emotional healing and unify communities (especially through religion). Adults have acquired "tastes" in music through music enculturation - "a complex, multifaceted process [involving the] processing of pitch/melodic and rhythmic/metrical structures [within] musical system(s) in a culture, the understanding of esthetic and expressive norms (like timbre voice qualities), and the learning of pragmatic uses of music in different social settings" (Trainor, Marie, Gerry, Whiskin and Unrau, 2012, 129). These differences in music are expressed when it comes to genres, timbre, etc., and we are able to communicate our preferences verbally and through facial gestures. Infants seem to absorb music in a unbiased manner (due to their inability to express their preferences verbally); therefore, they must learn the musical structures in the musical systems to become "full participants" in their cultures (129). Infants learn about "music acceptability" through musical systems within their cultures through "organizing pitch spaces and using musical scales (especially with sing-a-longs, defining and applying harmonic devices relationally with rhythmic changes, employing rhythmic and metrical structures (and linking these structures with cultural dances), identifying pleasing and disturbing timbre voice qualities, presenting in performance group structures (i.e. small and large groups) and understanding cultural rules - reserving songs for certain performers, "gendered" songs, and so on (129). Past research, conducted by Hannon and her colleagues, has shown that "young Western infants (were) able to process both simple and complex metrical structures found in music around the world, but become specialized for the simple metrical structures predominant in Western music by 12 months of age (129-130). This research also showed that "young infants, contrasting to Western adults, (were) not yet sensitive to Western tonal pitch structure, processing equally well wrong notes that go outside the key of a melody and wrong notes that are consistent with the key and implied harmony of a melody" (130). Although "studies in preschool children [suggested] that music lessons accelerate musical acquisition [measured through brain imaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)"], "little work has been done in the infancy period, especially within the context of connecting musical training with "accelerat(ing) enculturation to musical tonality and Western esthetic values related to musical expression" (130). However, another study suggested that "metrical specialization can be slowed by exposure to foreign musical systems around 12 months of age," and that "participation in Kindermusik classes for infants and adults can accelerate specialization for Western meters in seven-month-old infants" (130). Additionally, this study "indicated that infants showed strengthened brain responses to melodies played with a guitar and a marimba by four months of age" (130).

Music Classes, Sensitivity and Results:

     Gerry, Unrau Trainor and Trainor studied "the effects of music classes for infants and parents on enculturation to Western music" on randomly-assigned 6-month-old infants (130). The 38 infants participated in this study for 6 months in" weekly-hour (active or passive) classes" at Ontario Early Years Centers and "attended at least 75% of the sessions" - along with their parents/guardians. The classes took place at two different centers - one was in a middle-class setting, and the other was in a lower socioeconomic area. Afterwards, the infants were tested on their "sensitivity to Western tonality, esthetic preferences, brain responses and social development at the beginning of the classes (130). Sensitivity to Western tonality and esthetic preferences came unpredictably earlier than expected, resulting in these differences being measured at 12 months of age for the infants (130). A Suzuki-philosophy approach was used for infants in the active classes [i.e. teachers engaged infants and parents in movement, singing, playing percussive instruments and building a repertoire of lullabies and action songs] (130). The goals were to emphasize musical expression with infants, have them sing and play along with their parents, get them to repeat repertoire and have parents become aware of their infants' responses to music enculturation (130). Infants in the passive classes "listened to a rotation of CD's from the baby Einstein series while the teacher encouraged play and interaction at art [i.e. building blocks, stacking cups, etc.] (130). The CD's consisted of" synthesized Classical music without music expression," and parents were encouraged to take home a different CD each week for the purposes of listening and interacting with their infants (130). The structure of the passive class was determined to be equivalent to the active classes, in terms of "stimulation, motivation, and social interaction" (130). Enculturation to Western tonality was measured through head-turning of two versions of a sonatina [one in G major and one "atonal" version] (131). Esthetic enculturation to Western Classical music was measured according to assumed stylistic norms of expressive performance (Waltz in A-flat major by Chopin). Effects of musical enculturation on brain development through piano tones and speakers' voices (133) and social consequences of musical enculturation was measured through the administration of an Infant Behaviour Questionnaire [IBQ] (135). For example, sensitivity to Western tonality was clearly shown in infants after 12 months of age, but "active musical participation involving social interaction between infants, their parents, and others in the group promotes earlier enculturation to the pitch structure of music (131). Although infants showed moderate responses to esthetic enculturation to Western Classical music, there was no difference between active and passive participants (133). Active participants showed a stronger correlation than passive participants between musical training and musical enculturation on brain development  at 12 months of age (135), and these participants were considerably "less distressed to limitations and when confronted with novel stimuli," more relaxed (more smiles and laughter) and showed easier soothability (135).

REFLECTION:

     There are a number of issues which need to be addressed in order for this study to have more validity. The first issue is that there were only 38 infants who were randomly selected to be a part of the study. The study does not mention the racial or cultural backgrounds of the participants, except that they are "Western" babies. If infants are accustomed to listening to both Western and foreign musical systems, there might be an error in assessing the actual knowledge of Western musical systems for this study. Secondly, the passive participants should have had the option of listening to real-live recordings on CD's instead of synthesized music with no musical expression; I feel that the lack of musical expression skewed the results towards the active participants. Thirdly, there are different types of music classes which are emerging which do not completely follow the "Western" or the "foreign" musical systems (i.e. hip-hop/DJ courses). This study does not account for such musical systems, and the researchers would not be able to assess infants of this music enculturation effectively. 

Work Cited:

Trainor, L.J., Marie, C., Gerry, D., Whiskin, E., and Unrau, A., 2012. Becoming musically enculturated: effects of music classes for infants on brain and behaviour, Volume 1252, Issue 1, Issue: The Neuroscience and Music IV: Learning and Memory, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06462.x/pdf.

Background Music Changes Are Processed First, Reducing Ad Message Recall

Source

Fraser, Cynthia, and J. Andrew Bradford. "Music to Your Brain: Background Music Changes Are Processed First, Reducing Ad Message Recall." Psychology & Marketing 30.1 (2013): 62-75. Scholars Portal Journals. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

 Summary

Two experiments were conducted to determine how background music can impact the recall of an ad message.

The first experiment had 132 third year business majors who voluntarily participated in this study. The study was described as an advertising concept test to explore alternative ad designs with no indication of researching into background music. Participants watched the aids on computer screens and ranked each of them on a 5 point liker scale. Then they recorded the brand ad and message they recall seeing. There were 6 experimental ads with topics of a car, athletic shoes, fitness water, long-distance service, cat food and an ADIS charity, were created which were based on Clio award winners. One ad had sound effects while the other five playing background music. The order of the ads had an equal chance to be placed in the beginning, middle and end.

Results indicate that an average of 79% of participants correctly recalled the advertised brands, just 53% recalled the message. Experimental evidence suggests that background music changes interrupt processing of brand and message information, reducing message recall. Message recall from ads with background music was significantly lower than message recall from ads with sound effects and no music. More harmonic changes, multiplied by distinct instruments also reduce message recall. At faster tempos, changes are heard more frequently, increasing distraction frequency and reducing recall. By re-orchestrating music for fewer distinct instruments or subtly changing tempo ought to reduce distraction and improve message recall.

The purpose of the second experiment was to reduce background changes to improve the recall of the ad brand and message. This experiment had 52 third year undergraduates view an advertising concept test. The backgrounds of the ads from the first experiment were modified (replacing an orchestral except with a piano reduction and increasing the tempo of a piece) upon and reused in the second experiment. Participants watched the ads, were asked to complete a 10 minute distraction activity and then asked to recall the ads.

The results from experiment 1 and experiment 2 produced similar results when it came to recall of ad brand and messages. Results indicate that there was an increase in recall when the tempo was increased and only one timbre quality being used.

Overall, experiment one results demonstrate that brand message recall is higher when the rate of background music change is less. This is expected from higher priority processing of background sound changes. Experiment two results demonstrate that reducing the rate of background music change, by replacing an orchestral except with a single instrument or increasing tempo very slightly, retaining the same music backgrounds and can improve brand message recall. Music changes are processed first before brand and message elements.

 

Reflection

After reading this research on how music affects advertisement recalls, it made me remember that music as a powerful tool of communication. Many of the television advertisements that I encounter all have background music playing. Marketers have to determine which type of music best resonates with consumers so their ad will immediate capture the viewers’ attention.

This study looked at ads which a message, which is when the harmonic changes and many instruments may distract the audience. Most ads we watch and listen to feed the viewers all the important information, attract more attention by evoking emotional responses, or even trigger more images from ad viewers, achieving affective goals.

This study has other implications can be tied to areas in our lives such as distraction. If music is processed first, this means that when drivers are listening to the radio or music in their car, they will automatically become distracted. Our brain processes these musical ideas before processing other things that are happening around us.

This is another application for students when they are listening to music while they are completing their assignments and studying. “When music I heard in the background, processing of other task-related material is compromised and reduced” (Fraser & Bradford, 2013, pg.72). Prior research has indicated that studying with music has allowed the brain to make connections with the song and the content being studied. It is important for students to re-evaluate this idea of studying with music.

Electric Brain Responses to Inappropriate Harmonies During Listening to Expressive Music

Stefan Koelsch and Juul Mulder: “Electric Brain Responses to Inappropriate Harmonies During Listening to Expressive Music,” Clinical Neurophysiology, Issue 113, pp 862-869, 2002.

Review:

The processing of a pattern or a rule-based auditory stimuli in the brain has been the focus many neuroscientists’ research. This work has been primarily conducted via the investigation of linguistic stimuli. Quite recently, however, the processing of organized musical information in the brain began to be researched. Stefan Koelsch from Harvard’s Medical School and Juul Mulder from the University of Groningen have joined forces in an experiment to examine the nature of the brain’s electric responses after musical input has been interrupted by the harmonic altering of one chord in a sequence. The intensity of brain’s activity was recorded with the electroencephalogram (EEG).

In the study, eighteen participants, none of them having considerable musical training, were presented with two versions of excerpts from piano sonatas by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. The excerpts in the first group were taken from the sonatas as originally written while those in the second group had the last tonic chord altered by one raised semitone. The participants were informed about the alteration made in one of the examples and were asked to indicate the change. The study showed that only 39.6% of the participants were able to detect the alteration. The effect of a chord change caused a strong reaction over centro-temporal leads, occupying predominantly the right hemisphere of the brain. Furthermore, recorded ERP (event-related potential) waveforms showing the brain’s electrical activity over time showed early negativity as a result of introducing unexpected or altered chords on the music played to the participants. According to the authors, such occurrences reflect an interruption of the regularities characteristic for the Western European tonal system. This means that participants who noticed the effected alterations built certain expectations throughout a sequence. Given that altered chords were transposed by a semi-tone, they strongly opposed the harmonic context generated by previously heard harmonic sequences.

Response:

The study performed by Koelsch and Mulder underlines the importance of organization and regularity in the brain’s processing of environmental stimuli. However, the author’s decision to conduct the study with musically untrained participants raises the question of experience in cognitive processes. Trained musicians would score significantly higher in the test simply because they are trained to recognize harmonic relations in music. Another aspect informing the nature of cognition is context. In this case, context can be equated to genre in music. Tonic resolutions are typical not only in music of the early or late classical era; they are normative for the majority of the music genres westerners usually listen to. If for some reason participants were exposed to genres that did not use the traditional Western harmony (i.e., modal, atonal, pentatonic), the right response, even from a small percent of successful participants, would not be guaranteed. I am not stating that the above mentioned study was not performed properly; it consider necessary to note, however, that specialized domains are not suitable for studying the reactions of average people. In that sense, studies focusing on the processing of audible linguistic stimuli could present more accurate results that could be widely applied.