Music is used as a natural therapy in patients with severe neurological disorders to promote their long-term memory , as well as their capacity for social interaction and communication. But how (and why) music affects the physical and psychosocial responses of humans was until now a mystery.
Scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have just taken an important step in their search for the neural bases of the "musical brain ." As they explained yesterday during the annual meeting of the American Society for Neuroscience, which is held these days in Chicago, musical perception could have its origin in the calls that animals , and specifically non-human primates, use to communicate.
Many language sounds and animal vocalizations contain components known as complex musical tones , consisting of a fundamental frequency and higher harmonics. By studying the brain of awake monkeys, Yuki Kikuchi and his colleagues found that there are neurons adapted to these vibrations, which in turn are located near areas of the auditory cortex that are organized by tone .
According to Kikuchi, "the knowledge of the innate musical neural mechanisms in non-human primates will improve the understanding of the perception of music by the human brain ." And, most importantly, it will help to understand its therapeutic effects.
