When it comes to music and the brain, there is so much we are just starting to learn. “There are theories that music is older than speech or language, some even argue that speech evolved from music.”
Music is a universal language. It has been part of every culture since the beginning. Without knowing another culture’s language, you can listen to the songs they sing, watch them dance, and still feel the emotion behind it. Music speaks to every human around the world, and it moves us so deeply. Now science is starting to show us why, and that there may be a part of the brain that responds to music and almost nothing else.
The Study: Neurons Just for Music
In 2015, researchers at MIT published a study in the journal Neuron that surprised a lot of people. They had 10 volunteers listen to 165 different everyday sounds while their brains were scanned with fMRI. The sounds included people talking, music, footsteps, a car starting, a phone ringing and much more.
When they looked at the data, they found six different groups of nerve cells in the auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound. One group lit up strongly for music, from a solo drummer to whistling to pop songs and rap, and barely responded to anything else. A separate group responded mostly to speech. The lead author, Dr. Sam Norman-Haignere, and neuroscientist Josh McDermott said this points to separate pathways in the brain for music and speech.
Why This Part of the Brain That Responds to Music Matters
For a long time, scientists thought our love of music was just a side effect of being able to understand speech and other complex sounds. This study suggests music has its own special place in the brain. To me, that says so much about how important music is to us as humans. It is not extra. It is part of how we were made.
It might also explain why music gives some of us chills. If you get goosebumps when a song hits just right, you are not alone. Researchers have found that people who get chills from music may have stronger connections between the parts of the brain that hear sound and the parts that process emotion. Music literally moves us.
What We Still Do Not Know
The researchers were clear that there is still a lot to learn. They do not know yet if we are born with these “music neurons,” or if they grow over time because we hear so much music as children. None of the people in the study were trained musicians, so the next step is to see if musicians’ brains respond differently. And it does not yet tell us where our love of music came from in the first place.
Music and the Brain: How to Feed Your Musical Side
I love that science keeps confirming what our spirits already know. Music is healing, it connects us, and it lifts our vibration. Here are a few easy ways to give that musical part of your brain some love:
- Play music in your home every day, especially in the morning to set the tone for the whole family.
- Sing out loud, even if you think you cannot sing.
- Notice which songs give you chills or make you cry, and make a playlist of them for hard days.
- Let your kids learn an instrument, or learn one yourself. It is never too late.
- Try music tuned to 432Hz or the 528Hz love frequency.
Want to go deeper? Read about the 15 amazing benefits of music and why the right side of the brain needs some love. You can also read the original MIT News story about this study.
