The Musical Neurons

Description

This book explores connections between music, neural activations and brain plasticity, in order to better understand its associated psychological and physiological effects. The final goal is to focus on the positive effects of music to treat neurological disorders, establishing a new co-ordination between different brain areas to improve both mental illness and wellbeing. A secondary goal is to analyse the role of music at a psycho-sociological level, to understand both the transformation of music into a cultural model and the vision of music as an innate instinct.Music is able to create both emotions and volitional processes. The application of new neuroimaging techniques allows us to explore and evaluate with accuracy what happens in our brain during the creative and artistic performance. A wide range of brain regions are recruited for creative tasks, and music has the opportunity to help in enhance and reset some brain pathological disturbances being also able to ameliorate and restore some rhythmic body activities such as sleep, movement and co-ordination. The book represents a valuable and innovative tool both for neurologists as well as healthcare professionals involved in the management of neurological disorders. Preface Introduction Acknowledgements Contents About the Editor 1: Music for Pleasure 1.1 Some Narrative Reflections 1.2 The Shape of Music References 2: Synesthesia and Emotional Sound 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Historical Foundations and Philosophical Debates 2.3 Scientific Development of the Term Synesthesia 2.4 Science, Romanticism, and Synesthesia 2.5 Neurodevelopmental and Acquired Pathological Synesthesia 2.6 Music Synesthesia and a Possible Influence on Well-being 2.7 Conclusion References 3: Music and Creativity: The Auditory Mirror System as a Link between Emotions and Musical Cognition 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Methods 3.2.1 Sample 3.2.2 Procedure and Instruments 3.2.2.1 tDCS Equipment 3.2.2.2 Geneva Emotional Scale (GEW) 3.2.2.3 Creativity Evaluation 3.2.2.4 Music 3.3 Results 3.4 Discussion and Conclusions References 4: A Short History of Rhythm 4.1 Rhythms around us 4.2 Connecting Through Pulse 4.3 Meter 4.4 Speech 4.5 Structure 4.6 Origins 4.7 Tempo 4.8 Chasing the Roots 4.9 Methods and Training 4.10 The Western Explosion Suggested Reading 5: A Lullaby to the Brain: The Use of Music as a Sleep Aid 5.1 Lullabies and the Use of Music for Sleep 5.2 Music to Alleviate Sleep Problems 5.2.1 Age-Related Sleep Problems 5.2.2 Insomnia Related to Mental Disorders 5.2.3 Music for Sleep Improvement in Hospitalized Patients 5.3 How Can Music Facilitate Sleep? 5.3.1 The Brain Mechanisms of Sleep Music 5.3.2 Bodily Responses to Sleep Music 5.3.3 Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Music on Sleep 5.3.4 Environmental Factors in the Impact of Sleep Music 5.4 The Characteristics of Sleep Music 5.5 Conclusion References 6: Music in Dementia: From Impairment in Musical Recognition to Musical Interventions 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Neural Correlates of Music Processing 6.2.1 Dementia and Musical Perception 6.2.2 Dementia and Music-Evoked Emotions 6.2.3 Dementia and Musical Memory 6.3 Musical Interventions in Dementia 6.4 Conclusions References 7: Parkinson’s Disease Treatment: The Role of Music Therapy 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Complimentary Methods 7.3 Music Therapy (MT) 7.4 Rhythm Therapy for Individuals with PD 7.5 Music Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease 7.6 Holistic Musical Techniques 7.7 Conclusions References 8: It Thrills My Soul to Hear the Songs: The Case of Musicolepsia 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Clinical Features of People with Musicolepsia 8.3 Is the Emotional Glow to Light the Fire? 8.4 Neurophysiological and Functional-Neuroimaging Findings of Musicolepsia 8.5 Conclusions References 9: Signs Made Flesh: Body, Improvisation, and Cognition Through Semiotics 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Semiotics and the Body 9.3 Enactivism 9.4 Enactive Activities 9.5 Conducted Improvisation 9.5.1 Morris’ Conduction 9.5.2 Zorn’s Cobra 9.6 Comprovisation 9.7 Enactive Improvisation 9.8 Conclusion References 10: Flute and Mind 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Historical Evolution of the Flute 10.2.1 The Flute in the Paleolithic Period 10.2.2 The Flute in Ancient Greece and Rome 10.2.3 The Flute from Medieval Times to Nowadays 10.3 The Neural Correlates of Flute Playing 10.4 The Flute and the “Sound of the Mind” 10.5 Conclusions References 11: Neurological Diseases in Popular Songs 11.1 Migraine 11.2 Epilepsy and Seizure 11.3 Insomnia 11.4 Dementia 11.4.1 Conclusions 11.4.2 Other Neurological Diseases in Music 11.4.3 Arie Perry’s Neuropathology Songs References 12: Conclusion