Your Brain on Music: Integration

by daughter, Caroline King

Different parts of your brain are dedicated to performing specialized tasks, but some activities utilize many parts of your brain at once. It might seem like music would be a very localized neural process, since the experience of playing music feels simple. However, playing a musical instrument involves a far more complex integration of brain circuits than you might expect!

Researchers have found that playing music involves some areas of the brain that might surprise you. Here’s a short video from a TED talk illustrating the amazing web of neural activity going on in that head of yours every time you pick up your guitar.

Scientifically Yours,

Caroline King

When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What's going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians' brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout.