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Jazz drummers recruit language-specific areas for the processing of rhythmic structure
Marcus Herdener1, Thierry Humbel, Fabrizio Esposito
1Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, MR-Center, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|November 28, 2012
Summary
Brain networks for processing musical rhythm involve areas crucial for language. Musical training enhances rhythm processing by recruiting brain regions typically used for linguistic syntax analysis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Music Cognition
Background:
- Rhythm is fundamental to human communication through music and speech.
- Understanding neural processing of rhythm and the impact of musical training is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how the human brain processes rhythmical patterns in music.
- Evaluate the influence of musical training on rhythm processing.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
- Brain activity was measured in response to deviations from regular rhythmic structures.
- Comparisons were made between professional jazz drummers and non-musicians.
Main Results:
- Deviations from regular rhythms activated the left planum temporale, Broca's area, and its right homolog.
- This network is also involved in processing music harmony and language syntax.
- Professional jazz drummers showed additional activation in the left supramarginal gyrus compared to laypersons.
Conclusions:
- Rhythm processing engages a neural network shared with music harmony and language syntax.
- Professional musicians, particularly drummers, recruit higher-order brain regions for linguistic syntax to process complex rhythms.
- This suggests functional adaptation of language-related areas for specialized rhythmic processing in experts.
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