Brain Analysis

1283 Words6 Pages
Many humans play instruments every day. It is an integral part of their daily life. Yet what few of them never consider is the complex series of neurological events that makes this happen. The brainstem, limbic system, and cerebral cortex all contribute to this process and play integral parts in playing an instrument. Understanding how all three of these integral brain parts contribute to every aspect of playing an instrument, reveals how the human brain functions and controls our day to day activities. The brainstem is the oldest part of the human brain evolutionarily; it is also the most vital part of the human brain for survival. David Meyers describes in his textbook Psychology: Tenth Edition in Modules (2013) that the brainstem as a…show more content…
Much of the limbic system is dedicated to reward systems associated with survival functions such as eating, drinking, and sex. One area that would have a huge influence on the playing of an instrument however, is the hippocampus. This area of the limbic system is dedicated to memory and emotional responses. This brain region is responsible for consolidating short term and long term memory and learning. So this limbic system area is important when it comes to remembering how to play your favorite composition and even remembering how to play the instrument itself. Remembering which key on a saxophone to push to elicit a specific note, or knowing how to read the music on the page in front of you is all dependant on how well you have learned the music. Learning is all done in the hippocampus. In this way playing an instrument and remembering how to do it is all based on the limbic system. The limbic system also has a huge effect on the experience of playing or listening to music. In the Oxford University Press’ textbook Cognitive Neuroscience of Emotion (2002), the author discusses how emotional responses to stimuli can be mainly attributed to the the limbic system. Music is known to elicit powerful emotions and physically elicit responses on the listener. We can associate many these responses to the amygdala's emotional processing of stimuli. A study done in 2001 by Anne J. Blood examined the neurological basis of…show more content…
The cerebral cortex makes up the biggest portion of the human brain and is associated with many processing and motor functions including touch sensations, intelligence, and personality. The most obvious region of the cerebral cortex involved with music is the temporal lobe, which is the lobe that processes auditory sensation. Without the ability to hear and process auditory information, one couldn’t listen to music. The parietal lobe is also a region of the cerebral lobe that would be integral for playing an instrument. This area of the brain, located toward the back of the brain on the top of the head, is associated with processing sensory information and integrating the inputs to create a whole picture of the person’s surroundings. The sense of touch is also mainly processed here. All of this would become incredibly important when playing an instrument as when playing your instrument knowing what your hands are doing is incredibly important. This part of the brain would process each of the input sensations felt by the musician. The parietal lobe also would control spacial relations which, in conjunction with the coordination parts of the brain will allow the musician to simply orient himself and his movements. It is also important to mention that these inputs that the parietal lobe processes are routed to it from the thalamus. The thalamus is an integral part of the limbic system, this again

More about Brain Analysis

Open Document