Does musical training impact R lateral auditory cortex function?
The density of grey matter in the R lateral auditory cortex is much higher in trained musicians. Now, play a very simple tune. Then play it backwards with one note altered. How well can someone identify the original tune backwards from the altered tunes backwards. Testing hundreds of subjects, Dr. Zatorre found the level of activity the R lateral auditory cortex was highly correlated (r=0.48) with the ability to tell the original from its imposters. Others have figured out just how thick a small area of the brain is at any moment, and found those with a thicker R lateral cortex, independent of musical training, did better on this task. Conclusion: The fact that animals rely on music, that humans have as well for perhaps longer than they have talked, as well as evidence that areas of the brain physically change as they manage the perception of pitch, all highly suggest music is indeed a hard-wired, basic, physical property of how our brains work. Music and emotion Emotion is one of the
