Skip to main content

MUSIC TRAINING INCREASE BLOOD FLOW IN BRAIN



Just 30 minutes of musical training can increase the blood flow in the left hemisphere of our brain which is believed to be responsible for language processing, according to a new study. The research by the University of Liverpool in UK suggests that the areas responsible for music and language share common brain pathways. Researchers from the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society carried out two separate studies which looked at brain activity patterns in musicians and non-musicians. The first study looking for patterns of brain activity of 14 musicians and 9 non-musicians whilst they participated in music and word generation tasks. The results showed that patterns in the musician's brains were similar in both tasks but this was not the case for the non-musicians. In the second study, brain activity patterns were measured in a different group of non-musical participants who took part in a word generation task and a music perception task. The measurements were also taken again following half an hour's musical training. The measurements of brain activity taken before the musical training showed no significant pattern of correlation. However, following the training significant similarities were found. "The areas of our brain that process music and language are thought to be shared and previous research has suggested that musical training can lead to the increased use of the left hemisphere of the brain," said Amy Spray, who conducted the research as part of a School of Psychology Summer Internship Scheme. "This study looked into the modulatory effects that musical training could have on the use of the different sides of the brain when performing music and language tasks. "It was fascinating to see that the similarities in blood flow signatures could be brought about after just half an hour of simple musical training," she said. "This suggests that the correlated brain patterns were the result of using areas thought to be involved in language processing," said Liverpool Psychologist, Dr Georg Mayer. "Therefore we can assume that musical training results in a rapid change in the cognitive mechanisms utilised for music perception and these shared mechanisms are usually employed for language," Mayer said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WORLD'S OLDEST WOMAN

Misao Okawa celebrates her 115th birthday in Osaka, western Japan on March 5, 2013. Okawa was formally recognized as the world's oldest woman.

B cell- RESPOSE KEY TO FIGHT DIABETES & GUM DESEASE

Modulation of one of the most important blood cells involved in the human immune response may effectively treat and prevent the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and periodontitis simultaneously, scientists say. Researchers have found that B cells, blood cells involved in the human immune response, promote inflammation and bone loss in type 2 diabetes-associated periodontal disease. These findings support the idea that treatments that manipulate the responses of B cells may treat or prevent this complication. "Our study identified common inflammatory mechanisms shared by type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease. It paves the way for the development of novel therapeutics which aim to simultaneously treat both type 2 diabetes and its complications," said Min Zhu, a researcher involved in the work from the department of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. To make this discovery, scientists used an experimental model (mouse model) of periodo...

ANIL AND FAMILY

Chairman Reliance, ADAG, Anil Ambani's family members (left to right) mother Kokilaben, wife Tina and son Anshul.