A: Music is like an on-switch for the brain. Nowhere is this more evident than when one immerses themselves in the process of enjoying a beautiful piece of music. While the act of perceiving music may seem like a relatively simple thing, the truth is that the neurological mechanisms that allow this simple act to take place are extraordinarily complex! Each stage of this process constitutes an entire field of science that researchers have devoted their entire careers to understanding.
First, we need to ask ourselves the most fundamental of questions: What is music? All sound, music included, is a vibration—acoustic energy that moves the air in an invisible way that can be captured by our eardrums. This energy is transferred through three tiny bones called the malleus, incus, and the stapes, collectively known as the ossicles, into the inner ear (the cochlea), where the process of converting music from vibration into electricity occurs. The inner ear acts like a frequency analyzer, sending bass information to the tip of the spiral-shaped cochlea and treble information to the opposite end, known as the base. Through this stage where vibrations are transduced into electricity, music becomes a series of nerve impulses that travel down the all-important auditory nerves to reach the brainstem, where the music is then relayed upward to the brain.
Within the brain, music is relayed to the temporal lobes, areas of the brain that sit just above our ears. The first brain region that receives this music is known as the primary auditory cortex, which analyzes the music and then distributes it first to auditory processing areas of the brain—widely throughout the brain—to sensory processing areas, motor control areas, language centers, memory centers, and areas involved in consciousness. In addition to these cortical areas, music also stimulates limbic and emotional centers of the brain involved in reward and pleasure.
In fact, research has revealed that the entire brain can be stimulated by music, from areas involved in processing visual information, rhythmic movement, logical thought, to deep emotion. Perhaps the multiplicity of brain areas engaged by music is one of the key reasons that music is one of the most powerful stimulants there is for the brain. In this way, neuroscience may be able to explain exactly why and how.
–Dr. Charles Limb, Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Chief of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at UC San Francisco
