Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Intact absolute pitch ability after left temporal lobectomy.

R J Zatorre1

  • 1Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
|December 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Singing training predicts increased insula connectivity with speech and respiratory sensorimotor areas at rest.

Brain research·2023
Same author

How restful is it with all that noise? Comparison of Interleaved silent steady state (ISSS) and conventional imaging in resting-state fMRI.

NeuroImage·2016
Same author

Hearing in the Mind's Ear: A PET Investigation of Musical Imagery and Perception.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2013
Same author

Time-related changes in neural systems underlying attention and arousal during the performance of an auditory vigilance task.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2013
Same author

Introduction to The neurosciences and music IV: learning and memory.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2012
Same author

Functional neuroimaging of odor imagery.

NeuroImage·2005

This study shows that left temporal lobectomy improved a pianist's absolute pitch notation skills while impairing verbal memory. Musical pitch processing appears distinct from verbal memory, suggesting brain lesion immunity for musical abilities.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Music Cognition

Background:

  • Absolute pitch is the ability to identify or produce a musical note without a reference tone.
  • Intractable seizures in a 17-year-old pianist necessitated an anterior left temporal lobectomy.
  • Pre-operative assessment revealed minor inconsistencies in the patient's notation of piano tones.

Observation:

  • The patient demonstrated improved performance in notating single piano tones post-surgery.
  • A short-term memory task showed impairment in recalling a three-letter sequence after 18 seconds with verbal interference.
  • Retention of piano note names remained excellent under identical conditions, similar to control subjects.

Findings:

  • Left temporal lobectomy led to enhanced absolute pitch notation accuracy.

Related Experiment Videos

  • The patient exhibited deficits in verbal short-term memory consistent with hippocampal and temporal lobe lesions.
  • Crucially, the ability to recall musical pitch information was preserved.

    • Implications:

    • Highlights a dissociation between verbal memory systems and pitch coding mechanisms.
    • Suggests that many musical abilities may be remarkably resilient to left-hemisphere damage.
    • Provides insights into the neural basis of absolute pitch and its functional neuroanatomy.