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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
The cortical topography of tonal structures underlying Western music
Petr Janata1, Jeffrey L Birk, John D Van Horn
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. petr.janata@dartmouth.edu
Abstract:
Western tonal music relies on a formal geometric structure that determines distance relationships within a harmonic or tonal space. In functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we identified an area in the rostromedial prefrontal cortex that tracks activation in tonal space. Different voxels in this area exhibited selectivity for different keys. Within the same set of consistently activated voxels, the topography of tonality selectivity rearranged itself across scanning sessions. The tonality structure was thus maintained as a dynamic topography in cortical areas known to be at a nexus of cognitive, affective, and mnemonic processing.
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